Antenna coil component, antenna unit, and method of manufacturing the antenna coil component

ABSTRACT

Provided is an antenna coil component including a bobbin around which a winding is wound, a base provided at least at one end side of the bobbin, and one or more metal terminals each fixed to the base, at least one metal terminal among these metal terminals including a fixing part for fixing the metal terminal to the base, a mounting part provided at a position away from the fixing part, and a neck part for connecting the fixing part and the mounting part to each other. The neck part has a length in a direction substantially orthogonal to a direction from the fixing part to the mounting part and substantially parallel to surfaces of the mounting part, which is narrower than that of the mounting part. Provided as well are an antenna unit using the antenna coil component, and a method of manufacturing the antenna coil component.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/446,529, filed on Jul. 30, 2014, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference and priority towhich is hereby claimed. Application Ser. No. 14/446,529 claims priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §119(a) and 35 U.S.C. §365(b) to Japanese ApplicationNo. 2013-166256, filed on Aug. 9, 2013, and Japanese Application No.2014-099486, filed on May 13, 2014, the disclosure of which is alsoincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an antenna coil component, an antennaunit, and a method of manufacturing the antenna coil component.

2. Description of the Related Art

A keyless entry system used for locking or unlocking a door has beenmainly used for automobiles. In the keyless entry system, an antennaunit for transmission is mounted on the side of a device or structurehaving a door such as a vehicle. In such an antenna unit, main partsthereof include an antenna coil component including a bobbin and a coilor the like made of a winding wound around the bobbin and a magneticcore accommodated and disposed in the bobbin. In addition to the bobbinand the coil, the antenna coil component may further include variouselectronic components such as a capacitor forming a resonance circuittogether with the coil and a resistor for stabilizing an output(Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-16549, Japanese PatentNo. 4883096, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-121278).

The electronic component is mounted on a metal terminal fixed to a resinbody part of the bobbin or the like forming the main parts of theantenna coil component by soldering through use of a spot reflow method.

However, in the related art antenna coil component also including anelectronic component, there is a risk in that a solder connecting partfor connecting the metal terminal and the electronic component may becracked when a stress generated by expansion and contraction of theresin material forming the body part along with a temperature change istransmitted to the metal terminal. The occurrence of cracks may resultin a malfunction of the antenna unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentionedcircumstance, and it is an object of the present invention to provide anantenna coil component capable of preventing a solder connecting partfrom being cracked by a temperature change in the case where anelectronic component is also mounted by soldering, and to provide anantenna unit using the antenna coil component and a method ofmanufacturing the antenna coil component.

The above-mentioned object is achieved by embodiments of the presentinvention described below.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is providedan antenna coil component, including at least: a bobbin having a tubularshape and formed of an insulating material; a winding wound around anouter circumferential side of the bobbin; a base provided at least atone end side of the bobbin and formed of an insulating material; and oneor more metal terminals each having conductivity and fixed to the base,in which at least one metal terminal among the one or more metalterminals includes at least: a fixing part for fixing the at least onemetal terminal to the base; a mounting part having a plate shape andprovided at a position spaced from the fixing part; and a neck part forconnecting the fixing part and the mounting part to each other, the neckpart having a length narrower than a length of the mounting part in adirection substantially orthogonal to a direction from the fixing partto the mounting part and substantially parallel to front and rearsurfaces of the mounting part.

In an antenna coil component according to one embodiment of the presentinvention, it is preferred that the mounting part have an electroniccomponent disposed thereon through intermediation of a solder connectingpart.

In an antenna coil component according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, it is preferred that the electronic component be achip capacitor.

In an antenna coil component according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, it is preferred that the at least one metal terminalinclude two metal terminals each including at least the fixing part, themounting part, and the neck part.

In an antenna coil component according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, it is preferred that the at least one metal terminalincluding at least the fixing part, the mounting part, and the neck partinclude one mounting part and one neck part.

In an antenna coil component according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, it is preferred that an entire periphery of an end ofthe mounting part be spaced from the base.

In an antenna coil component according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, it is preferred that the fixing part be buried in thebase.

In an antenna coil component according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, it is preferred that the bobbin and the base beformed integrally with each other, the base have a ring shape forming ahollow part which passes through the base in a direction substantiallyorthogonal to an axial direction of the bobbin, and the at least onemetal terminal including at least the fixing part, the mounting part,and the neck part be disposed so that the mounting part and the neckpart are positioned in the hollow part.

In an antenna coil component according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, it is preferred that the insulating material formingthe bobbin and the insulating material forming the base be heat-labileresins.

In an antenna coil component according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, it is preferred that the antenna coil component beused for an in-vehicle antenna unit.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is providedan antenna unit, including at least: an antenna coil component includingat least: a bobbin having a tubular shape and formed of an insulatingmaterial; a winding wound around an outer circumferential side of thebobbin; a base provided at least at one end side of the bobbin andformed of an insulating material; and one or more metal terminals eachhaving conductivity and fixed to the base, at least one metal terminalamong the one or more metal terminals including at least: a fixing partfor fixing the at least one metal terminal to the base; amounting parthaving a plate shape and provided at a position spaced from the fixingpart; and a neck part for connecting the fixing part and the mountingpart to each other, the neck part having a length narrower than a lengthof the mounting part in a direction substantially orthogonal to adirection from the fixing part to the mounting part and substantiallyparallel to front and rear surfaces of the mounting part; a magneticcore disposed in the bobbin; an electronic component disposed on themounting part through intermediation of a solder connecting part; and acase for accommodating the antenna coil component.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provideda method of manufacturing an antenna coil component, including at least:disposing a metal member in a mold, the metal member including at least:a fixing part; a mounting part having a plate shape and provided at aposition spaced from the fixing part; and a neck part for connecting thefixing part and the mounting part to each other, the neck part having alength narrower than a length of the mounting part in a directionsubstantially orthogonal to a direction from the fixing part to themounting part and substantially parallel to front and rear surfaces ofthe mounting part; injecting a heat-labile resin into the mold, tothereby mold at least a base formed of the heat-labile resin andsimultaneously bury the fixing part in the base; applying a cream solderto at least one surface of the mounting part; and disposing anelectronic component on the at least one surface of the mounting part towhich the cream solder has been applied, and then soldering theelectronic component to the mounting part by a spot reflow method.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible toprovide the antenna coil component capable of preventing the solderconnecting part from being cracked by a temperature change in the casewhere the electronic component is also mounted by soldering, and toprovide the antenna unit using the antenna coil component and the methodof manufacturing the antenna coil component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of an antennacoil component according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view illustrating a structure in the vicinityof a base forming the antenna coil component according to the firstembodiment illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view illustrating another example of a metalterminal with a neck part used in the antenna coil component accordingto the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view illustrating another example of themetal terminal with a neck part used in the antenna coil componentaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view illustrating another example of themetal terminal with a neck part used in the antenna coil componentaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an example of anantenna unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of a metalmember used in a method of manufacturing the antenna coil componentaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic end view illustrating an example of soldering by ahot blast nozzle system in the method of manufacturing the antenna coilcomponent according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic end view illustrating another example of solderingby the hot blast nozzle system in the method of manufacturing theantenna coil component according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing an example of a relationship between thetemperature of hot blast in the vicinity of a nozzle tip end and timewhen soldering by the hot blast nozzle system is performed in the methodof manufacturing the antenna coil component according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic end view illustrating another example ofsoldering by the hot blast nozzle system in the method of manufacturingthe antenna coil component according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic end view illustrating another example ofsoldering by the hot blast nozzle system in the method of manufacturingthe antenna coil component according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic end view illustrating another example ofsoldering by the hot blast nozzle system in the method of manufacturingthe antenna coil component according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of an antennacoil component according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of a metalterminal used for manufacturing the antenna coil component according tothe second embodiment.

FIGS. 16A to 16C are schematic views illustrating an example of aconnector pin fitted to the metal terminal forming the antenna coilcomponent according to the second embodiment. FIG. 16A is a top view ofthe connector pin, FIG. 16B is a side view of the connector pin, andFIG. 16C is a sectional view illustrating an example of a sectionalstructure taken along the line A-A of FIG. 16B.

FIG. 17 is a schematic plan view illustrating a fitting form of theconnector pin with respect to the metal terminal illustrated in FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 is a schematic plan view illustrating another example of themetal terminal used for manufacturing the antenna coil componentaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a schematic plan view illustrating a fitting form of theconnector pin with respect to the metal terminal illustrated in FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a schematic plan view illustrating another example of themetal terminal used for manufacturing the antenna coil componentaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a schematic plan view illustrating a fitting form of theconnector pin with respect to the metal terminal illustrated in FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is an enlarged top view illustrating an example of a baseforming the antenna coil component according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a sectional view illustrating an example of a sectionalstructure taken along the line B-B of FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is an exploded plan view illustrating an example of an antennaunit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of a metalmember used for manufacturing an antenna coil component according to athird embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is an enlarged top view illustrating an arrangement relationshipbetween a metal terminal and a base in the vicinity of a mounting partof the metal terminal in the case where the metal terminal illustratedin FIG. 25 is fixed to the base illustrated in FIG. 22 by injectionmolding.

FIG. 27 is an enlarged top view illustrating an example of the vicinityof an opening part after amounting part pressing step is completed withrespect to the metal terminal illustrated in FIG. 26.

FIG. 28 is a sectional view illustrating an example of a sectionalstructure of a metal terminal taken along the line C-C of FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of a metalmember used in a method of manufacturing an antenna coil componentaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is an enlarged top view illustrating an arrangement relationshipbetween a metal terminal and a base in the vicinity of a mounting partof the metal terminal in the case where the metal terminal illustratedin FIG. 29 is fixed to the base illustrated in FIG. 22 by injectionmolding.

FIG. 31 is a sectional view illustrating an example of a sectionalstructure taken along the line D-D of FIG. 30.

FIGS. 32A to 32C are sectional views illustrating an example of the casewhere a soldering step is performed by a first manufacturing process inthe method of manufacturing an antenna coil component according to thefourth embodiment. FIG. 32A is a view illustrating a mounting partheating step, FIG. 32B is a view illustrating a solder supplying step,and FIG. 32C is a view illustrating an electronic component arrangementstep.

FIGS. 33A to 33C are sectional views illustrating an example of the casewhere a soldering step is performed by a second manufacturing process inthe method of manufacturing an antenna coil component according to thefourth embodiment. FIG. 33A is a view illustrating a solder supplyingstep, FIG. 33B is a view illustrating an electronic componentarrangement step, and FIG. 33C is a view illustrating a mounting partheating step.

FIG. 34 is a graph showing an example of a heating treatment schedule inthe case of using a chip capacitor of a laminated ceramics capacitortype as an electronic component in the method of manufacturing anantenna coil component according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 35 is an enlarged top view illustrating an example of a method ofmanufacturing an antenna coil component according to a fifth embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 36 is an enlarged top view illustrating another example of themethod of manufacturing an antenna coil component according to the fifthembodiment.

FIG. 37 is an enlarged top view illustrating another example of themethod of manufacturing an antenna coil component according to the fifthembodiment.

FIG. 38 is an enlarged top view illustrating another example of themethod of manufacturing an antenna coil component according to the fifthembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of an antennacoil component according to a first embodiment of the present invention,specifically, illustrating main parts of the antenna coil component.Note that, in FIG. 1, an X-direction and a Y-direction indicated bytwo-headed arrows are orthogonal to each other, and the X-direction isalso parallel to an axial direction C illustrated in FIG. 1. In thiscase, one side (right side in FIG. 1) of the X-direction is referred toas “right side” or “right direction”, the other side thereof (left sidein FIG. 1) is referred to as “left side” or “left direction”, one side(upper side in FIG. 1) of the Y-direction is referred to as “upper side”or “upward direction”, and the other side thereof (lower side in FIG. 1)is referred to as “lower side” or “downward direction”. Note that, thesame applies to FIG. 2 and the subsequent figures.

An antenna coil component 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a tubularbobbin 20 made of an insulating material, a winding (metal wire coveredwith an insulating film (not shown)) wound around an outercircumferential surface 22 of the bobbin 20, a base 30 provided on oneend side (right end side in FIG. 1) of the bobbin 20 and made of aninsulating material, and three metal terminals 40A (40), 40B (40), 42each having conductivity and fixed to the base 30. A chip capacitor 50is mounted to the metal terminals 40A and 40B so as to bridge the metalterminals 40A and 40B.

Note that, the bobbin 20 is provided with a plurality of flange parts 24forming convex portions with respect to the outer circumferentialsurface 22 in the axial direction C. In this case, the winding is woundaround the outer circumferential surface 22 between two flange parts 24adjacent to each other in the axis direction C. The other end side (leftend side in FIG. 1) of the bobbin 20 is provided with an opening part(not shown).

The bobbin 20 and the base 30 are formed integrally with each other. Inthis case, the base 30 forms a ring shape forming a hollow part 32 whichpasses through the base 30 in a direction substantially orthogonal tothe axial direction C of the bobbin 20. Further, as the insulatingmaterial forming the bobbin 20 and the base 30, a resin material isgenerally used.

Further, in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the metal terminal 40A isconnected to one end of the winding (not shown), and the metal terminal40B is connected to first wiring (or a first terminal) (not shown) usedfor connecting the antenna coil component 10 to external equipment orthe like. The metal terminal 42 is connected to the other end of thewinding (not shown) and connected to second wiring (or a secondterminal) (not shown) used for connecting the antenna coil component 10to external equipment or the like. Note that, the metal terminals 40A,40B, 42 may be appropriately provided with binding parts for binding andconnecting the winding and wiring as necessary. Further, an electroniccomponent such as the chip capacitor 50 may not be mounted on theantenna coil component 10.

Next, the structure of the vicinity of the base 30 of the antenna coilcomponent 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is described in more detail. FIG. 2is a schematic plan view illustrating a structure of the vicinity of thebase 30 forming the antenna coil component 10 according to the firstembodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. In this case, the broken line of FIG.2 indicates a contour line 34 of the hollow part 32, and shaded regionsin the metal terminals 40A, 40B, 42 are parts (fixing parts) fixed tothe base 30 while being buried in the base 30.

In FIG. 2, the metal terminal 40A is disposed so as to occupy a regionextending from a position within the hollow part 32 on the left side ofthe center to a position outside the hollow part 32 on the upper side.The metal terminal 40B is disposed so as to occupy a region extendingfrom a position within the hollow part 32 on the right side of thecenter to a position outside the hollow part 32 on the upper right side.The metal terminal 42 is disposed so as to occupy a region outside thehollow part 32 on the lower side.

In this case, the metal terminal 40A includes fixing parts 110A (100),102 for fixing the metal terminal 40A to the base 30, a mounting part110A (110) in a rectangular plate shape provided at a position spacedfrom the fixing part 100A, and a neck part 120A (120) for connecting thefixing part 100A and the mounting part 110A to each other. The neck part120A (120) has a length (width W) narrower than that of the mountingpart 110A in a direction (X-direction in FIG. 2) substantiallyorthogonal to a direction (Y-direction in FIG. 2) from the fixing part100A to the mounting part 110A and substantially parallel to front andrear surfaces of the mounting part 110A.

Note that, the respective parts forming the metal terminal 40A arearranged in the following order: the mounting part 110A, the neck part120A, the fixing part 100A, a connecting part 130 for connecting thefixing part 100A and the fixing part 102 to each other, and the fixingpart 102 in the case where the mounting part 110A is defined as a startpoint and the fixing part 102 is defined as a final point. The mountingpart 110A and the neck part 120A are disposed on an inner side of thecontour line 34, and the fixing part 100A, the connecting part 130, andthe fixing part 102 are disposed on an outer side of the contour line34. Further, the contour line 34 forms a boundary line between thefixing part 100A and the neck part 120A.

Further, the metal terminal 40B includes a fixing part 100B (100) forfixing the metal terminal 40B to the base 30, amounting part 110B (110)in a rectangular plate shape provided at a position spaced from thefixing part 100B, and a neck part 120B (120) for connecting the fixingpart 100B and the mounting part 110B to each other. The neck part 120B(120) has a length (width W) narrower than that of the mounting part110B in a direction (Y-direction in FIG. 2) substantially orthogonal toa direction (X-direction in FIG. 2) from the fixing part 100B to themounting part 110B and substantially parallel to front and rear surfacesof the mounting part 110B.

In FIG. 2, in the X-direction, the mounting part 110A forming the metalterminal 40A and the mounting part 110B forming the metal terminal 40Bare disposed so as to be opposed to each other at a predetermineddistance. The chip capacitor 50 is disposed so as to bridge the twomounting parts 110A and 110B through intermediation of a solderconnecting part (not shown in FIG. 2). That is, one external electrode(not shown in FIG. 2) of the chip capacitor 50 is connected to themounting part 110A by soldering, and the other external electrode (notshown in FIG. 2) thereof is connected to the mounting part 110B bysoldering.

Note that, the respective parts for forming the metal terminal 40B arearranged in the following order: the mounting part 110B, the neck part120B, and the fixing part 100B in the case where the mounting part 110Bis defined as a start point and the fixing part 100B is defined as afinal point. The mounting part 110B and the neck part 120B are disposedon an inner side of the contour line 34, and the fixing part 100B isdisposed on an outer side of the contour line 34. Further, the contourline 34 forms a boundary line between the fixing part 100B and the neckpart 120B.

Further, the metal terminal 42 includes a fixing part 104 for fixing themetal terminal 42 to the base 30 and other parts 140, 142 connected tothe fixing part 104. The entire metal terminal 42 is disposed on anouter side of the contour line 34.

In the case where the antenna coil component 10 is subjected to atemperature change, an insulating material forming the base 30 expandsor contracts. A stress generated by the expansion or the contraction istransmitted to the entire metal terminal 40A through the fixing parts100A, 102, and simultaneously transmitted to the entire metal terminal40B through the fixing part 100B. In this case, the mounting part 110Afixing the chip capacitor 50 through intermediation of the solderconnecting part is connected to the fixing part 100A through the neckpart 120A, and the mounting part 110B fixing the chip capacitor 50through intermediation of the solder connecting part is connected to thefixing part 100B through the neck part 120B. Therefore, originally, thestress transmitted to the fixing part 100A is transmitted to themounting part 110A through the neck part 120A, and the stresstransmitted to the fixing part 100B is transmitted to the mounting part110B through the neck part 120B. Therefore, finally, there is a risk inthat the stress transmitted to the mounting parts 110A, 110B may beconcentrated on the solder connecting part.

However, in the antenna coil component 10 according to the firstembodiment, the width W(A2) of the neck part 120A is narrower than thewidth W(A1) of the mounting part 110A, and the width W(B2) of the neckpart 120B is narrower than the width W(B1) of the mounting part 110B.That is, the neck parts 120A, 120B are likely to be deformed due to thelow stiffness, and hence the stress transmitted to the neck part 120Athrough the fixing part 100A and the stress transmitted to the neck part120B through the fixing part 100B are absorbed and relaxed by thedeformation of the neck parts 120A and 120B. Consequently, the stressfinally transmitted to the mounting parts 110A and 110B becomes weak,and the stress concentration on the solder connecting part is suppressedgreatly. Therefore, in the antenna coil component 10 according to thefirst embodiment, the solder connecting part can be prevented from beingcracked more reliably compared to a related-art antennal coil component.

Further, a ratio [W(A2)/W(A1)] of the width W(A2) to the width W(A1) inthe metal terminal 40A is not particularly limited as long as the ratiois less than 1. However, from the viewpoint of preventing the solderconnecting part from being cracked more reliably, in general, the ratiois preferably 0.7 or less, more preferably 0.5 or less, still morepreferably 0.3 or less. Further, a lower limit value of the ratio[W(A2)/W(A1)] is not particularly limited. However, from the viewpointof ensuring the strength of the neck part 120A, it is practicallypreferred that the lower limit value be 0.1 or more. Note that, the samealso applies to the metal terminal 40B.

Note that, the term “neck part” as used herein refers to a member forconnecting a fixing part and a mounting part to each other. In thiscase, the planar shape of the neck part is provided in such a mannerthat a maximum length (width W(A2) in the neck part 120A illustrated inFIG. 2, for example) in a direction substantially orthogonal to adirection from the fixing part to the mounting part and substantiallyparallel to front and rear surfaces of the mounting part is narrowerthan a width (width W(A1) in the mounting part 110A illustrated in FIG.2, for example) of the mounting part in a state where the antenna coilcomponent is completed. As long as this condition is satisfied, there isno particular limit to the planar shape of the neck part.

Note that, the metal terminal 40A includes two fixing parts 100A, 102,and the fixing part 102 provided at a position which is not continuousfrom the neck part 120A is longer in a stress transmission distance tothe mounting part 110A than the fixing part 100A. Therefore, in the caseof considering adverse effects on the solder connecting part by astress, it is substantially sufficient that only the fixing part 100Aprovided at a position which is continuous from the neck part 120A betaken into consideration. Further, from the viewpoint of whetherdirectly supporting and fixing the neck part 120A and the mounting part110A, the fixing part 100A serves as a direct fixing part, and thefixing part 102 serves as an indirect fixing part.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, although the entire perimeterof an end of the mounting part 110 is spaced from the contour line 34(that is, the base 30), a part of the end may be in contact with thecontour line 34. However, in order to make the absorption and relaxationof a stress by the neck part 120 more effective, it is preferred thatthe entire perimeter of the end of the mounting part 110 be spaced fromthe contour line 34.

Further, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, as the metal terminal40 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “metal terminal 40 with a neckpart”) including at least the fixing part 100, the mounting part 110,and the neck part 120, two metal terminals 40A and 40B are used, but thenumber of the metal terminals 40 with a neck part to be used may be 1 or3 or more. Further, as an electronic component to be arranged on themounting part 110 through intermediation of the solder connecting part,known electronic components such as a resistor, an IC chip, and atransistor can be used besides the chip capacitor 50 illustrated in FIG.2, and as necessary, 2 or more electronic components of the same kind,or 2 or more different kinds of electronic components can also be used.Further, it is sufficient that the electronic component be arranged onthe mounting part 110 of at least one metal terminal 40 with a neck partthrough intermediation of the solder connecting part. In this case,there is no particular limit to a connection form of connecting portionsbetween the electronic component and the other metal terminals orwiring, etc., and wire bonding and the like can be appropriately usedbesides solder connection. Note that, the number of the metal terminals40 with a neck part to be used is, in general, preferably two, and thechip capacitor 50 is, in general, preferred as the electronic componentto be used. Further, in the case of using 2 or more metal terminals tobe connected to the electronic component by soldering, it is preferredthat all the metal terminals to be connected to the electronic componentthrough intermediation of the solder connecting part be the metalterminals 40 with a neck part.

There is no particular limit to a fixing form of the fixing part 100with respect to the base 30, and a known fixing form can be adopted.Examples of the fixing form include: (1) a first fixing form in whichthe fixing part 100 is buried in the base 30 as illustrated in FIGS. 1and 2; (2) a second fixing form in which the fixing part 100 is fixed tothe base 30 by heat fusion; (3) a third fixing form in which the fixingpart 100 is fixed to the base 30 with an adhesive; (4) a fourth fixingform in which the fixing part 100 forming a male pattern is fixed to thebase 30 having a female pattern mechanically by fitting the male patternin the female pattern; and (5) a fifth fixing form in which at least twokinds of the four fixing forms are combined. In this case, in order toperform fixing in the first fixing form in the example illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2, for example, the base 30 and the bobbin 20 to beintegrated therewith may be subjected to injection molding under thecondition of disposing the metal terminal 40 in a mold. Thus, in thecase where the fixing part 100 is buried in the base 30, the surface ofthe fixing part 100 and the base 30 are brought into close contact witheach other without any gap. Accordingly, the first fixing form is moreexcellent in fixing strength than the fourth fixing form in which apredetermined clearance is present between the surface of the fixingpart 100 and the base 30 in terms of dimension. Further, the first tofifth fixing forms can also be appropriately adopted with respect to thefixing parts 102, 104. Note that, it is particularly preferred that thefirst fixing form be used from the viewpoint of obtaining high fixingstrength and excellent productivity.

Note that, although the metal terminals 40A, 40B in which one mountingpart 110 is fixed to the base 30 through one neck part 120 areillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, one mounting part 110 may be fixed to thebase 30 through 2 or more neck parts 120.

FIGS. 3 to 5 are schematic plan views illustrating other examples of themetal terminal 40 with a neck part, specifically, specific examples ofthe metal terminal 40 with a neck part in which one mounting part 110 isfixed to the base 30 through two neck parts 120. Note that, in FIGS. 3to 5, only one metal terminal 40 with a neck part is illustrated, andthe electronic component such as the chip capacitor 50 and other metalterminals are not shown. Further, the base 30 to which the metalterminal 40 with a neck part is fixed forms a ring shape forming thesubstantially square hollow part 32.

A metal terminal 40C (40) illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a mounting part110C (110) in a rectangular plate shape, a first fixing part 100C1(100), a first neck part 120C1 (120), a second fixing part 100C2 (100),and a second neck part 120C2 (120).

In this case, the first neck part 120C1 and the second neck part 120C2are respectively connected to one end side and the other end side of oneside (upper side 112U) of two sides parallel to the X-direction amongfour sides forming an outer circumferential end of the mounting part110C. The first neck part 120C1 is connected to the first fixing part100C1 provided outside of one side (upper side 34U) of two sidesparallel to the X-direction among four sides forming the contour line 34in a substantially square shape, and the second neck part 120C2 isconnected to the second fixing part 100C2 provided outside of the upperside 34U of the contour line 34.

That is, in the metal terminal 40C, the axial direction of the firstneck part 120C1 and the axial direction of the second neck part 120C2are the same direction (Y-direction), and the first neck part 120C1 andthe second neck part 120C2 are arranged on the same side with respect tothe mounting part 110C. Note that, although the two fixing parts 100C1,100C2 are provided so as to correspond to the two neck parts 120C1,120C2 in the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the two fixing parts 100C1,100C2 may form one continuous fixing part 100.

A metal terminal 40D (40) illustrated in FIG. 4 includes a mounting part110D (110) in a rectangular plate shape, a first fixing part 100D1(100), a first neck part 120D1 (120), a second fixing part 100D2 (100),and a second neck part 120D2 (120).

In this case, the first neck part 120D1 is connected to one side (leftside 112L in FIG. 4) of two sides parallel to the Y-direction among foursides forming an outer circumferential end of the mounting part 110D.Further, the second neck part 120D2 is connected to one side (upper side112U in FIG. 4) of two sides parallel to the X-direction among the foursides forming the outer circumferential end of the mounting part 110D.The first neck part 120D1 is connected to the first fixing part 100D1provided outside of one side (left side 34L) of two sides parallel tothe Y-direction among the four sides forming the contour line 34, andthe second neck part 120D2 is connected to the second fixing part 100D2provided outside of the upper side 34U of the contour line 34.

That is, in the metal terminal 40D, the axial direction of the firstneck part 120D1 and the axial direction of the second neck part 120D2are orthogonal to each other. Note that, although two fixing parts100D1, 100D2 are provided so as to correspond to the two neck parts120D1, 120D2, respectively, in the example illustrated in FIG. 4, thetwo fixing parts 100D1, 100D2 may form one continuous fixing part 100.

A metal terminal 40E (40) illustrated in FIG. 5 includes a mounting part110E (110) in a rectangular plate shape, a first fixing part 100E1(100), a first neck part 120E1 (120), a second fixing part 100E2 (100),and a second neck part 120E2 (120).

In this case, the first neck part 120E1 is connected to one side (bottomside 112B) of two sides parallel to the X-direction among four sidesforming an outer circumferential end of the mounting part 110E. Further,the second neck part 120E2 is connected to an upper side 112U, which isparallel to the bottom side 112B and is opposed thereto, among the foursides forming the outer circumferential end of the mounting part 110E.The first neck part 120E1 is connected to the first fixing part 100E1provided outside of one side (bottom side 34B) of two sides parallel tothe X-direction among the four sides forming the contour line 34, andthe second neck part 120E2 is connected to the second fixing part 100E2provided outside of the upper side 34U, which is parallel to the bottomside 34B and is opposed thereto, among the four sides forming thecontour line 34.

That is, in the metal terminal 40E, the axial direction of the firstneck part 120E1 and the axial direction of the second neck part 120E2are the same direction (Y-direction). Further, the first neck part 120E1is arranged on one side with respect to the mounting part 110E, and thesecond neck part 120E2 is arranged on another side with respect to themounting part 110E.

As described above, in the case where the metal terminal 40 with a neckpart has two neck parts 120, the metal terminal 40 with a neck part canhave any form selected from the following first to third forms.

(1) First form in which the axial direction of one neck part 120 and theaxial direction of the other neck part 120 are substantially parallel toeach other (note that, the term “substantially parallel” also includesthe case where the axial direction of one neck part 120 and the axialdirection of the other neck part 120 cross each other so as to form anangle of less than) 30°, and the two neck parts 120 are positioned onthe same side with respect to the mounting part 110, as illustrated inan example in FIG. 3

(2) Second form in which the axial direction of one neck part 120 andthe axial direction of the other neck part 120 are substantiallyorthogonal to each other or cross each other so as to form an angle of30° or more, as illustrated in an example in FIG. 4

(3) Third form in which the axial direction of one neck part 120 and theaxial direction of the other neck part 120 are substantially parallel toeach other (note that, the term “substantially parallel” also includesthe case where the axial direction of one neck part 120 and the axialdirection of the other neck part 120 cross each other so as to form anangle of less than) 30°, and the one neck part 120 and the other neckpart 120 are positioned on opposite sides with respect to the mountingpart 110, as illustrated in an example in FIG. 5

In this case, in the case where one mounting part 110 is supported onlyby one neck part 120 as illustrated in FIG. 2, the mounting part 110forming one end portion of the metal terminal 40 serves as a free end,and hence the mobility is high. Therefore, a stress transmitted from thefixing part 100 is unlikely to be accumulated in the mounting part 110.On the other hand, in the case where the mounting part 110 is supportedby the 2 or more neck parts 120 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5, althoughthe stability of support of the mounting part 110 increases, themobility decreases. Therefore, compared to the case where one neck part120 is used, a stress transmitted from the fixing part 100 is likely tobe accumulated in the mounting part 110. When the stress accumulated inthe mounting part 110 increases, the solder connecting part becomeslikely to be cracked. Accordingly, in order to support the mounting part110 more stably, the number of the neck parts 120 is preferably about 2to 4, most preferably 2 for practical use even in the case where onemounting part 110 is supported by the 2 or more neck parts 120.

Further, the form in which one mounting part is supported only by oneneck part 120 illustrated in FIG. 2 is substantially the same as thefirst form in that the neck part 120 is present only on one side of themounting part 110. From the viewpoint of a biased degree of anarrangement position of two neck parts 120 with respect to the mountingpart 110, the first form has the largest biased degree, the second formhas the second largest biased degree, and the third form has thesmallest biased degree. Considering the foregoing, even in the casewhere one mounting part 110 is supported by two neck parts 120, thefirst form or the second form is preferred, and the first form is morepreferred from the viewpoint of suppressing the accumulation of a stressin the mounting part 110.

Similarly, in the case where the mounting part 110 is supported by the 3or more neck parts 120, the forms described in the following items (A)to (C) are preferred, the form described in the following item (A) or(B) is more preferred, and the form described in the following item (A)is most preferred.

-   -   (A) Case where all the combinations of any two neck parts 120        selected arbitrarily from 3 or more neck parts 120 satisfy the        first form    -   (B) Case where part of the combinations of any two neck parts        120 selected arbitrarily from 3 or more neck parts 120 satisfy        the first form, and the remaining combinations satisfy the        second form    -   (C) Case where all the combinations of any two neck parts 120        selected arbitrarily from 3 or more neck parts 120 satisfy the        second form

In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the base 30 is formed integrallywith the bobbin 20 and has a ring shape forming the hollow part 32.However, the base 30 may be a member separate from the bobbin 20. Thebase 30 may also be formed of 2 or more components or portions. Inaddition, the shape of the base 30 is not particularly limited as longas the shape does not impair the fixing of the metal terminal 40 with aneck part and the other metal terminals 42 to be used as necessary, andthe wiring connection with respect to the metal terminals 40, 42. Forexample, the base 30 may be formed of a first portion formed integrallywith the bobbin 20, and a second portion provided so as to be spacedfrom the first portion and disposed so as to be opposed to the firstportion in the axial direction C of the bobbin 20. As the base 30 formedof those two portions, there is given a structure in which, in FIG. 1,the ring-shaped base 30 is divided into two portions in a directionsubstantially orthogonal to the axial direction C so as to pass througha substantially center portion of the chip capacitor 50. However, fromthe viewpoint of ensuring the productivity and the entire strength ofthe antenna coil component 10, it is particularly preferred that theentire base 30 be formed integrally with the bobbin 20 as illustrated inFIG. 1, and the base 30 have a ring shape forming the hollow part 32.Further, although the base 30 is provided only on one end side of thebobbin 20 in the axial direction C in the example illustrated in FIG. 1,the base 30 can also be provided on both of one end side and the otherend side of the bobbin 20.

In the case of using a resin material as the insulating material forforming the bobbin 20 and the base 30, any known resin material can beused. On the other hand, in the antenna coil component 10 according tothe first embodiment, an electronic component is mounted on the mountingpart 110 as necessary by soldering, and in the case of manufacturing anantenna unit through use of the antenna coil component 10 according tothe first embodiment, an electronic component is mounted on the mountingpart 110 by soldering. Therefore, a high-temperature process is to beperformed for soldering.

However, in the antenna coil component 10 according to the firstembodiment, the metal terminal 40 including the mounting part 110 is incontact with the base 30 only in a portion of the fixing part 100mainly, and the mounting part 110 is supported by the base 30 throughthe neck part 120 and the fixing part 100. Therefore, when a spot reflowmethod is used for soldering the electronic component such as the chipcapacitor 50 to the mounting part 110, the temperatures of only theelectronic component such as the chip capacitor 50, the mounting part110, and the vicinity thereof become high during soldering. In addition,the heat generated during soldering is transmitted from the mountingpart 110 to the base 30 via the neck part 120 and the fixing part 100successively, and hence a heat transfer path is long. Therefore, athermal loss caused by the time when the heat reaches the base 30 isgreat. Therefore, the base 30 is not heated to a temperature as high asthat of the mounting part 110 during soldering using the spot reflowmethod. Thus, it is not necessary to use a reflow furnace for heatingthe entire antenna coil component 10 for soldering in the course ofmanufacturing the antenna coil component 10 according to the firstembodiment, and the base 30 is not heated to high temperature, either,even when the spot reflow method is used. Therefore, in the case ofusing a resin material as the insulating material forming the bobbin 20and the base 30, it is generally preferred to use a heat-labile resinwhich is less expensive than a heat-resistant resin in terms of cost.

Note that, the term “heat-labile resin” as used herein refers to a resin(resin which is changed in dimension and has its function degraded whenpassing through a reflow furnace due to low heat resistance) whichcannot be passed through a reflow furnace. Specific examples of theheat-labile resin include a polypropylene resin and a polybutyleneterephthalate resin. Further, the term “heat-resistant resin” refers toa resin other than the above-mentioned heat-labile resins, and ingeneral, there can be given various engineering plastics.

Further, the antenna coil component 10 according to the first embodimentis used in an antenna unit, and it is particularly preferred that theantenna coil component 10 be used in an in-vehicle antenna unit. In thein-vehicle antenna unit, the antenna coil component 10 is exposed tovibration during the operation of a vehicle, and hence the vibration isalso transmitted to the electronic component such as the chip capacitor50 via the metal terminal 40. However, in the antenna coil component 10according to the first embodiment, the vibration transmitted to theantenna coil component 10 is transmitted from the fixing part 100 fixedto the base 30 to the electronic component connected by soldering to themounting part 110 through the neck part 120. However, the neck part 120having the width W smaller than that of the mounting part 110 serves asa flat spring due to its relatively low stiffness, and absorbs andattenuates the vibration transmitted from the fixing part 100 side veryeasily. Consequently, the vibration transmitted to the solder connectingpart and the electronic component such as the chip capacitor 50 can beweakened, with the result that it is possible to prevent adverse effects(for example, deterioration of reliability of the electronic component,disconnection of the solder connecting part, etc.) caused when thesolder connecting part and the electronic component are exposed to thevibration for a long period of time.

Next, an antenna unit using the antenna coil component 10 according tothe first embodiment is described. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspectiveview illustrating an example of the antenna unit according to the firstembodiment. The antenna unit 200 illustrated in FIG. 6 includes theantenna coil component 10 on which the chip capacitor 50 is mounted asillustrated in FIG. 1, a bar-shaped magnetic core 210 disposed in thebobbin 20 of the antenna coil component 10, a tubular grommet 220, and abottomed tubular case 230 for accommodating the antenna coil component10 containing the magnetic core 210 and the grommet 220. Note that, inthe antenna coil component 10 illustrated in FIG. 6, a winding 60 iswound around the outer circumferential surface 22 of the bobbin 20unlike FIG. 1. Further, in the antenna coil component 10, two harnessterminals 70 are further mounted to the side of the antenna coilcomponent 10 on which the base 30 is provided. One harness terminal 70is connected to the metal terminal 40B, and the other harness terminal70 is connected to the metal terminal 42. Wiring (not shown) forconnection to a device, a power source, and the like outside of theantenna unit 200 is connected to each harness terminal 70.

In this case, the antenna coil component 10 is accommodated in the case230 together with the grommet 220 so that the base 30 side is directedto an opening part 232 side of the case 230 while the grommet 220 isfitted to the base 30 side so as to cover the two harness terminals 70.Further, the opening part 232 of the case 230 for accommodating theantenna coil component 10 and the like is sealed with a sealing member.

There is no particular limit to a method of manufacturing the antennacoil component 10 according to the first embodiment, and the antennacoil component 10 can be manufactured appropriately by a knownmanufacturing method. However, it is preferred that the antenna coilcomponent 10 according to the first embodiment be manufactured at leastthrough an injection molding step, a solder application step, and asoldering step. Now, a method of manufacturing the antenna coilcomponent 10 according to the first embodiment is described in the orderof steps.

First, the injection molding step includes preparing a metal memberincluding at least the fixing part 100, the mounting part 110 in a plateshape provided at a position spaced from the fixing part 100, and theneck part 120 which connects the fixing part 100 and the mounting part110 to each other, the neck part 120 having a length in a directionsubstantially orthogonal to a direction from the fixing part 100 to themounting part 110 and substantially parallel to front and rear surfacesof the mounting part 110, which is smaller than that of the mountingpart 110. The metal member may be the metal terminal 40 with a neck partforming the antenna coil component 10. However, from the viewpoint ofthe productivity and handling property, in general, it is particularlypreferred to use one metal member in which at least all the metalterminals 40A, 40B, 42 forming the antenna coil component 10 are mountedto an outer frame. Note that, two harness terminals 70 may be furthermounted to the outer frame of the metal member.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of a metalmember used for the method of manufacturing the antenna coil component10 according to the first embodiment. A metal member 300 illustrated inFIG. 7 includes an outer frame 310 having a U-shape brought down to theleft side, the metal terminals 40A, 40B, 42 disposed on an inner side ofthe outer frame 310, and connecting parts 320 (shaded regions in FIG. 7)for connecting the outer frame 310 and the metal terminals 40A, 40B, 42to each other. Note that, the metal terminal 40A is connected to anupper side of the outer frame 310 (right side of the U-shape), the metalterminal 40B is connected to a right side of the outer frame 310 (bottomside of the U-shape), and the metal terminal 42 is connected to a bottomside of the outer frame 310 (left side of the U-shape). Then, therelative arrangement relationship of the three metal terminals 40A, 40B,42 is the same as the arrangement relationship in the antenna coilcomponent 10. Note that, the shape of the outer frame 310 and the shapeand arrangement position of the connecting parts 320 can beappropriately selected without being limited to the example illustratedin FIG. 7.

The metal member 300 is disposed in a mold, and thereafter a resin isinjection-molded into the mold. Thus, the base 30 made of a resinmaterial is formed, and at the same time, the fixing parts 100A, 102,100B, 104 are buried in the base 30. Consequently, the base 30 isformed, and at the same time, the metal terminals 40A, 40B, 42 are fixedto the base 30. Note that, in the case of manufacturing the antenna coilcomponent 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, the bobbin 20 as well as the base 30is integrally formed during injection molding. Note that, in a statewhere the antenna coil component 10 is completed, the metal terminals40A, 40B, 42 are respectively separate members independent from eachother as illustrated in FIG. 2. However, in the course of manufacturingthe antenna coil component 10, one metal terminal in which the threemetal terminals 40A, 40B, 42 are continuously connected to each othermay be configured without the outer frame 310. In this case, it issufficient that the connecting parts for connecting the three metalterminals 40A, 40B, 42 be cut at appropriate timing during themanufacturing process.

After the injection molding step is completed, a solder application stepof applying a cream solder to at least one of front and rear surfaces ofeach of the mounting part 110A of the metal terminal 40A and themounting part 110B of the metal terminal 40B is performed. Then, theelectronic component such as the chip capacitor 50 is disposed on thesurfaces of the mounting parts 110A, 110B to which the cream solder hasbeen applied, and thereafter, a soldering step of soldering theelectronic component to the mounting part 110 is performed by a spotreflow method. After that, as needed, various post-processes such as thewinding of the winding 60 around the bobbin 20 and the removal of theouter frame 310 from the metal terminals 40A, 40B, 42 by cutting areperformed, with the result that the antenna coil component 10 accordingto the first embodiment can be obtained.

Note that, local heating by the spot reflow method is performed insteadof entire heating with a reflow furnace during the soldering step, andhence a heat-labile resin can be used as the insulating material formingthe base 30 and the bobbin 20 formed integrally therewith. Further, asthe spot reflow method, known spot reflow methods can be usedappropriately, such as a hot blast nozzle system of soldering by jettinghot blast from a nozzle and a light beam system of soldering byirradiation of condensed light from a light source such as a halogenlamp or irradiation of laser light. Note that, of those systems, it ispreferred to use the hot blast nozzle system.

When soldering is performed by the hot blast nozzle system, solderingmay be performed by selectively blowing hot blast output from a nozzleto only the vicinity of a connecting portion between the electroniccomponent such as the chip capacitor 50 and the mounting part 110A andthe vicinity of a connecting portion between the electronic componentsuch as the chip capacitor 50 and the mounting part 110B, therebyheating only those portions in a concentrated manner. Hot blast may alsobe jetted, with the tip end of the nozzle and the center portion of theelectronic component such as the chip capacitor 50 being substantiallymatched with each other, in planar directions of the metal components40A, 40B. Hot blast may also be blown from surfaces of the mountingparts 110A and 110B on which the electronic component such as the chipcapacitor 50 is mounted or may be blown from surfaces on an oppositeside thereto.

Now, various embodiments of soldering by the hot blast nozzle system aredescribed with reference to the drawings by exemplifying, as a specificexample, the case of manufacturing the antenna coil component 10illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Note that, FIGS. 8, 9, and 11 to 13described below are schematic end views taken along the line A1-A2 ofFIG. 2, each illustrating a state in which a nozzle 400 or the like isfurther disposed in the vicinity of the chip capacitor 50 illustrated inFIG. 2. Further, the chip capacitor 50 illustrated in FIG. 2 has alreadybeen soldered, but the chip capacitors 50 illustrated in FIGS. 8, 9, and11 to 13 have not been soldered.

First, when hot blast is jetted, the distance from a plane including themounting parts 110A and 110B to the tip end of the nozzle is notparticularly limited, but it is preferred that the distance beappropriate adjusted in a range of about 0.5 cm to about 10 cm. Inaddition, (1) the hot blast may be jetted while the distance (jettingdistance) from a tip end 402 of the nozzle 400 to the mounting parts110A, 110B is reduced gradually. For example, in the case where hotblast is jetted substantially in a direction right below under thecondition that the nozzle 400 is disposed right above the chip capacitor50 as illustrated in FIG. 8, (a) a jetting distance can be shortenedafter the first jetting of hot blast at a position of the tip end 402indicated by the solid line in FIG. 8, (b) next, the second jetting ofhot blast can be performed at a position of the tip end 402 indicated bythe dotted line in FIG. 8, and the jetting distance can be furthershortened, and (c) after that, the third jetting of hot blast can beperformed at a position of the tip end 402 indicated by the alternatelong and short dash lines in FIG. 8. (2) Further, hot blast may bejetted while the tip end 402 of the nozzle 400 is moved in a directionsubstantially parallel to the front and rear surfaces of the mountingparts 110A, 110B in a zigzag manner as indicated by an arrow “Z” in FIG.9 so that the jetting distance becomes shorter gradually, so as toequally control the temperatures at both ends of the chip capacitor 50disposed on the mounting parts 110A, 110B as illustrated in FIG. 9. Inthis case, it is preferred that the temperature in the vicinity of thetip end 402 (jetting port) of the nozzle 400 be set to a substantiallyconstant value (this temperature is higher than the melting point of acream solder) irrespective of any heating system described in the items(1) and (2).

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, while the jetting distance is keptconstant, the temperature in the vicinity of the tip end 402 (jettingport) of the nozzle 400 may be increased linearly at a predeterminedtemperature increasing rate with respect to time (temperature increasingpattern indicated by the dotted line of FIG. 10), or the temperature maybe increased gradually with respect to time (temperature increasingpattern indicated by the solid line of FIG. 10).

Further, from the viewpoint of performing the soldering process moreefficiently, a plurality of the nozzles 400 for jetting hot blast may beused as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, or auxiliary nozzles 410 forjetting inert gas such as nitrogen gas or noble gas or coolinglow-temperature gas may be used together with the nozzle 400 asillustrated in FIG. 13. In this case, the blast pressure, temperature,and change in the temperature with passage of time of gas jetted fromthe respective nozzles 400, 410, and the movement patterns of therespective nozzles 400, 410 can be appropriately selected, which may bethe same or different between the same kind of nozzles.

Note that, FIGS. 11 and 12 each illustrate an example in which solderingis performed through use of a first nozzle 400A and a second nozzle 400Bas the nozzle 400 for jetting hot blast. In this case, in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 11, respective center axes A1, A2 of the firstnozzle 400A and the second nozzle 400B are substantially orthogonal tothe front and rear surfaces of the mounting parts 110A, 110B. Further,the first nozzle 400A is disposed on one surface side of the chipcapacitor 50, and the second nozzle 400B is disposed on the othersurface side of the chip capacitor 50. Soldering is performed by jettinghot blast in this state. On the other hand, in the example illustratedin FIG. 12, the first nozzle 400A and the second nozzle 400B arearranged on a side of the mounting parts 110A, 110B on which the chipcapacitor 50 is mounted and arranged at positions which aresubstantially symmetrical with respect to a straight line Psubstantially equally dividing the chip capacitor 50 in a widthdirection thereof. Then, soldering is performed by jetting hot blast tothe chip capacitor 50 under the condition that the center axis A1 of thefirst nozzle 400A and the center axis A2 of the second nozzle 400Bdiagonally cross the straight line P (cross the straight line P so as toform an angle of about 40° to about 50° in FIG. 12), and each tip end402 side of the nozzles 400A, 400B is directed to the chip capacitor 50side.

Further, FIG. 13 illustrates an example of the case where two auxiliarynozzles 410 are used besides one nozzle 400. In the example illustratedin FIG. 13, the nozzle 400 is disposed substantially right above thechip capacitor 50 in the same way as in the case illustrated in FIG. 8.In addition, the two auxiliary nozzles 410 are respectively arrangedaround the nozzle 400 at positions which are substantially symmetricalwith respect to an axial direction of the nozzle 400 on both sides ofthe nozzle 400. Note that, tip ends 412 of the auxiliary nozzles 410 aredirected to sides of the auxiliary nozzles 410 opposite to the side onwhich the chip capacitor 50 is disposed (that is, the side on which thebase (not shown) 30 is disposed). In this case, when soldering isperformed, hot blast is jetted from the tip end 402 of the nozzle 400,and inert gas and/or cooling low-temperature gas are jetted from the tipend 412 of the auxiliary nozzle 410. Note that, in the case where inertgas such as nitrogen gas is jetted, thermal oxidation and deteriorationof the base 30 and the like can be suppressed easily, and in the casewhere low-temperature gas such as air at about room temperature isjetted, the thermal shock or thermal oxidation and deterioration of thebase 30 and the like by heating can be suppressed easily.

Further, in the case where soldering is performed continuously, (a)soldering may be performed by disposing a plurality of the antenna coilcomponents 10, on each of which the chip capacitor 50 before beingsoldered to the mounting parts 110A, 110B is mounted, on a belt at asubstantially equal interval and moving the belt in one direction so asto move the antenna coil component 10 to a position right below thenozzle 400 fixed at a predetermined position. Alternatively, (b)soldering may be performed by disposing a plurality of the antenna coilcomponents 10 on a flat platform, and thereafter moving the nozzle 400to a position right above each antenna coil component 10. Alternatively,soldering may be performed by combining the embodiments described in theitems (a) and (b). Further, a plurality of the nozzles 400 can also beused in the embodiment (production line) described in the item (a) or(b).

Note that, the antenna coil component 10 according to the firstembodiment may further include a structure of an antenna coil componentaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention describedlater and/or a structure of an antenna coil component according to athird embodiment of the present invention described later. Further, whenthe antenna coil component 10 according to the first embodiment ismanufactured, at least one manufacturing method selected frommanufacturing methods of an antenna coil component according to secondto fifth embodiments of the present invention described later may beused, and those manufacturing methods, the above-mentioned manufacturingmethod, and a known manufacturing method can also be combinedappropriately.

Second Embodiment

Next, the second embodiment is described. First, in antenna coilcomponents as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.2010-16549, Japanese Patent No. 4883096, and Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-open No. 2006-121278, in general, a metal terminal connected to alead forming a coil, an electronic component, and the like and a basefor supporting and fixing the metal terminal are disposed at one endside of a long antenna coil component. An external connection terminalsuch as a connector pin is fitted to the metal terminal for connectingthe antenna coil component to other devices and the like.

On the other hand, antenna coil components need to be designed inaccordance with requested specifications from customers who use antennaunits using the antenna coil components. Therefore, it is necessary tonewly design a base and a metal terminal every time a new antenna coilcomponent is developed. Therefore, a development period becomes long,and in addition, facility investment for manufacturing a new mold isentailed. On the other hand, although there are various requestedspecifications from customers, from the viewpoint of a change inspecification with respect to existing antenna coil components, therequested specifications of new products are merely a change in mountingform of a connector pin mainly with respect to specifications ofexisting products in most cases.

The second embodiment has been made in view of the above-mentionedcircumstance, and it is an object of the second embodiment to provide anantenna coil component to which a connector pin can be fitted byselecting a desired fitting form from 2 or more kinds of fitting forms,and an antenna unit using the antenna coil component.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an antenna coilcomponent according to the second embodiment includes at least a tubularbobbin formed of an insulating material, a winding wound around an outercircumferential side of the bobbin, a base provided at least at one endside of the bobbin and formed of an insulating material, and a metalterminal having conductivity and fixed to the base. The metal terminalis provided with 3 or more insertion holes for inserting connector pinsand fixing them to the metal terminal.

In a modified example of the antenna coil component according to thesecond embodiment, it is preferred that the metal terminal be providedwith 4 or more insertion holes.

In another modified example of the antenna coil component according tothe second embodiment, it is preferred that an opening shape of at leastone insertion hole selected from all the insertion holes provided in themetal terminal be formed so that a tip end of the connector pin can beinserted to be fixed to the metal terminal so as to be aligned in anydirection selected from 2 or more kinds of different directions.

In another modified example of the antenna coil component according tothe second embodiment, it is preferred that the metal terminal have afirst insertion hole with an opening shape through which the tip end ofthe connector pin can be inserted to be fixed to the metal terminal soas to be aligned in only one kind of direction, and a second insertionhole with an opening shape through which the tip end of the connectorpin can be inserted to be fixed to the metal terminal so as to bealigned in any direction selected from 2 or more kinds of differentdirections.

In another modified example of the antenna coil component according tothe second embodiment, it is preferred that the opening shape of thefirst insertion hole be a rectangular shape, and the opening shape ofthe second insertion hole be any opening shape selected from across-shape and an L-shape formed by combining two rectangular shapes.

An antenna unit according to the second embodiment includes at least:(1) an antenna coil component including at least a tubular bobbin formedof an insulating material, a winding wound around an outercircumferential side of the bobbin, a base provided at least at one endside of the bobbin and formed of an insulating material, and a metalterminal having conductivity and fixed to the base, the metal terminalbeing provided with 3 or more insertion holes through which connectorpins are inserted to be fixed to the metal terminal; (2) a magnetic coredisposed in the bobbin; (3) an electronic component connected bysoldering to the metal terminal; (4) a case for accommodating theantenna coil component; and (5) two connector pins respectively insertedto be fixed to the metal terminal through any two insertion holesselected from the 3 or more insertion holes.

FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of the antennacoil component according to the second embodiment, specifically,illustrating main parts of the antenna coil component.

An antenna coil component 510 illustrated in FIG. 14 includes a tubularbobbin 520 formed of an insulating material, a winding (metal wirecovered with an insulating film (not shown)) wound around an outercircumferential side of the bobbin 520, a base 530 provided at least atone end side of the bobbin 520 and formed of an insulating material, anda plate-shaped metal terminal 540C (540) having conductivity and fixedto the base 530. The metal terminal 540C is provided with four insertionholes 600 for inserting connector pins and fixing them to the metalterminal 540C. Note that, it is sufficient that at least three insertionholes 600 be provided in the antenna coil component 510 according to thesecond embodiment, but it is preferred that 4 or more insertion holes600 be provided as illustrated in FIG. 14. Further, although there is noparticular limit to an upper limit of the number of the insertion holes600 provided in the metal terminal 540, the number of the insertionholes 600 is preferably 10 or less, more preferably 5 or less from theviewpoint of practical use.

In the antenna coil component 510 according to the second embodiment, apair of two connector pins can be inserted into any two insertion holes600 selected from at least three insertion holes 600. Therefore, theconnector pins can be fitted to the metal terminal by selecting adesired fitting form from 2 or more kinds of fitting forms. Therefore,in the case where specifications of a new antenna coil componentrequested by customers are changed merely in a fitting form of aconnector pin with respect to related-art antenna coil components, it issufficient to change the insertion hole 600 through which a connectorpin is inserted without newly designing an antenna coil component.Accordingly, in the case of developing a new antenna coil component, itis not necessary to newly design the base 530 and the metal terminal540, with the result that a development period can be shortened, andfacility investment such as the manufacturing of a new mold can begreatly suppressed. In addition, the number of stock components formanufacturing the antenna coil component 510 having a plurality ofdifferent kinds of specifications can be easily reduced.

Note that, although the example illustrated in FIG. 14 shows a statebefore connector pins are inserted in the insertion holes 600, theantenna coil component 510 may be in a state in which the connector pinsare inserted in the insertion holes 600.

Further, a plurality of flange parts 524 forming convex portions withrespect to an outer circumferential surface 522 are provided on thebobbin 520 along an axial direction C thereof. In this case, the windingis wound around the outer circumferential surface 522 between respectivetwo flange parts 524 adjacent to each other in the axial direction C.Note that, the flange parts 524 may be omitted. An opening part (notshown) is provided on the other end side (left end side in FIG. 4) ofthe bobbin 520. Further, the bobbin 520 and the base 530 are formedintegrally with each other. In this case, the base 530 is provided withfive opening parts 532 (also referred to as “hollow parts”) passingthrough the base 530 in a thickness direction of the base 530 (directionorthogonal to an XY-plane of FIG. 14). Parts of the metal terminal 540C,that is, the vicinities of portions in which a pair of mounting parts610A, 610B and the insertion holes 600 are provided, or the like areexposed in the opening parts 532. Further, the other portions of themetal terminal 540C, in particular, portions not exposed in the openingparts 532 are supported by and fixed to the base 530 by being buried inthe base 530.

Note that, as the insulating material forming the bobbin 520 and thebase 530, a resin material is generally used in the third embodiment,the fourth embodiment, and the fifth embodiment described later, as wellas the second embodiment. As the resin material, any of a heat-resistantresin and a heat-labile resin, or a combination thereof may be used, andfurther an additive component such as a filler may be dispersed in theresin material. Note that, it is preferred to adopt a heat-labile resinas much as possible as long as it is permitted in terms of manufacturingof the antenna coil component 510 in any embodiment.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 14, a chip capacitor 550 is disposedon the pair of the mounting parts 610A, 610B, which form a part of themetal terminal 540C and are arranged opposed to each other, so as tobridge the mounting parts 610A and 610B. Note that, various electroniccomponents such as the chip capacitor 550 may be connected to the metalterminal 540C by soldering or the like as illustrated in FIG. 14, ornone of electronic components may not be connected to the metal terminal540C. Further, one end of the winding (not shown) is connected to eachof two winding connecting parts 612A, 612B (parts of the metal terminal540C) provided so as to protrude to the outside of a frame of the base530.

Next, the metal terminal 540 forming the antenna coil component 510 isdescribed in more detail. FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view illustratingan example of the metal terminal used for manufacturing the antenna coilcomponent according to the second embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 15 is aview illustrating a modified example of the metal terminal 540C beforethe connector pins and the electronic components such as the chipcapacitor 550 are fitted and mounted thereto in the antenna coilcomponent 510 illustrated in FIG. 14.

A metal terminal 540A (540) includes, as main parts thereof, themounting part 610A, the mounting part 610B, the winding connecting part612A, the winding connecting part 612B, and four wide parts 614 (firstwide part 614A, second wide part 614B, third wide part 614C, and fourthwide part 614D). Note that, the mounting parts 610A and 610B have arectangular shape whose vertical and horizontal sides are respectivelyparallel to the Y-direction and the X-direction, and the wide part 614has a square shape or a rectangular shape close to a square shape whosevertical and horizontal sides are respectively parallel to theY-direction and the X-direction.

In this case, the first wide part 614A, the second wide part 614B, thethird wide part 614C, and the fourth wide part 614D are disposed in acounterclockwise direction in the stated order so as to be respectivelypositioned at four corners of a rectangle. That is, based on the firstwide part 614A, the second wide part 614B is disposed on the right sideof the first wide part 614A, the third wide part 614C is disposed on theupper right side of the first wide part 614A, and the fourth wide part614D is disposed on the upper side of the first wide part 614A.

The first wide part 614A and the second wide part 614B are connected toeach other through a band-shaped coupling part 616A extending inparallel to the X-direction, the second wide part 614B and the thirdwide part 614C are connected to each other through a band-shapedcoupling part 616B extending in parallel to the Y-direction, and thethird wide part 614C and the fourth wide part 614D are connected to eachother through a band-shaped coupling part 616C extending in parallel tothe X-direction.

Further, the mounting part 610A and the mounting part 610B are disposedbetween the fourth wide part 614D and the first wide part 614A in thestated order in a direction from the fourth wide part 614D side to thefirst wide part 614A side. In this case, the fourth wide part 614D andthe mounting part 610A are connected to each other through a band-shapedcoupling part 616D extending in parallel to the Y-direction, and themounting part 610A and the mounting part 610B are connected to eachother through a band-shaped coupling part 616E extending in parallel tothe Y-direction.

Further, one end of the band-shaped winding connecting part 612Aextending in parallel to the Y-direction is connected to an upper leftside portion of the mounting part 610B, and the other end thereof ispositioned on a further upper side from the third wide part 614C and thefourth wide part 614D in the Y-direction. Further, one end of theband-shaped winding connecting part 612B extending in parallel to theY-direction is connected to a left side portion of the first wide part614A, and the other end thereof is positioned on a further lower sidefrom the first wide part 614A and the second wide part 614B in theY-direction.

A total of four insertion holes 600A are provided so that each insertionhole is provided to a center portion of each of the four wide parts 614.The opening shape of each of the four insertion holes 600A is arectangular shape whose long side is parallel to the X-direction, andthe opening shapes and sizes of the four insertion holes 600A are allthe same.

In this case, as a connector pin to be fitted to the metal terminal 540illustrated in FIG. 15 and the like, for example, a connector pinillustrated in FIGS. 16A to 16C can be used. FIGS. 16A to 16C areschematic views illustrating an example of the connector pin. FIG. 16Ais a top view, FIG. 16B is a side view, and FIG. 16C is a sectional viewtaken along the line A-A of FIG. 16B.

A connector pin 570 illustrated in FIG. 16 includes a band-shaped pinbody part 572 pointed at a tip end, and a fitting part 574 extending ina direction which is substantially orthogonal to the pin body part 572on the other end side opposite to the tip end of the pin body part 572.The cross-section of the fitting part 574 of the connector pin 570 has arectangular shape as illustrated in FIG. 16C, and the shape and sizethereof are substantially matched with the insertion hole 600Aillustrated in FIG. 15. In this case, a short side of the cross-sectionof the fitting part 574 is parallel to a longitudinal direction of thepin body part 572. Therefore, when the fitting part 574 of the connectorpin 570 is inserted in the insertion hole 600A of the metal terminal540A, the connector pin 570 is fixed to the metal terminal 540A so thatthe tip end of the connector pin 570 is directed in one direction.

Therefore, in the case where two connector pins 570 are fitted to themetal terminal 540A illustrated in FIG. 15, there exist two kinds offitting forms. FIG. 17 is a schematic view illustrating a state in whichtwo connector pins 570 are fitted to the metal terminal 540A illustratedin FIG. 15. As illustrated in FIG. 17, the fitting form of the connectorpins 570 with respect to the metal terminal 540A can be selected fromtwo kinds: a first fitting form P1 and a second fitting form P2described below.

(1) First Fitting Form P1

Fitting form in which two connector pins 570 are respectively insertedin the insertion hole 600A of the first wide part 614A and the insertionhole 600A of the second wide part 614B so that the tip ends of the twoconnector pins 570 are directed downward and the positions of the tipends in the Y-direction are matched with each other.

(2) Second fitting form P2 Fitting form in which two connector pins 570are respectively inserted in the insertion hole 600A of the third widepart 614C and the insertion hole 600A of the fourth wide part 614D sothat the tip ends of the two connector pins 570 are directed upward andthe positions of the tip ends in the Y-direction are matched with eachother.

Note that, in the case where ends of a winding are connected to themetal terminal 540A, and the electronic component such as the chipcapacitor 550 and the connector pins 570 are mounted and fitted to themetal terminal 540A, the ends of the winding are respectively connectedto the vicinities of tip ends of the winding connecting parts 612A,612B, and the coupling part 616E for connecting the two mounting parts610A, 610B on which the electronic component such as the chip capacitor550 is disposed is cut. Further, a coupling part positioned between thetwo connector pins 570 is cut. For example, in the first fitting formP1, the coupling part 616A is cut, and in the second fitting form P2,the coupling part 616C is cut.

Next, another example of the metal terminal 540 is described. FIG. 18 isa schematic plan view illustrating another example of the metal terminal540 used for manufacturing the antenna coil component 510 according tothe second embodiment, specifically, illustrating a modified example ofthe metal terminal 540A illustrated in FIG. 15 and the like.

A metal terminal 540B (540) illustrated in FIG. 18 has the same shapeand structure as those of the metal terminal 540A illustrated in FIG. 15and the like except that the arrangement positions and opening shapes ofthe insertion holes 600 are partially different from those of the metalterminal 540A illustrated in FIG. 15. In this case, in the metalterminal 540B illustrated in FIG. 18, a total of three insertion holes600 are provided. Specifically, one insertion hole 600A whose openingshape is rectangular is provided in a center portion of the second widepart 614B so that a long side of the insertion hole 600A is parallel tothe Y-direction, one insertion hole 600B (600) is provided in a centerportion of the third wide part 614C, and one insertion hole 600A whoseopening shape is rectangular is provided in a center portion of thefourth wide part 614D so that a long side of the insertion hole 600A isparallel to the X-direction. Note that, the opening shape of theinsertion hole 600B provided in the third wide part 614C is obtained bycombining two insertion holes 600A whose opening shape is rectangular sothat the combination forms a cross shape. The insertion hole 600B isdisposed so that a horizontal axis line and a vertical axis line of thecross shape are respectively matched with the X-direction and theY-direction. Therefore, in the case where the connector pin 570 isfitted to the metal terminal 540B through the insertion hole 600B, theconnector pin 570 can be inserted in the insertion hole 600B byselecting any of a form in which the tip end of the connector pin 570 isdirected to the X-direction side and a form in which the tip end of theconnector pin 570 is directed in the Y-direction side.

Therefore, in the case where two connector pins 570 are fitted to themetal terminal 540B illustrated in FIG. 18, there exist two kinds offitting forms. FIG. 19 is a schematic view illustrating a state in whichtwo connector pins 570 are fitted to the metal terminal 540B illustratedin FIG. 18. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the fitting form of the connectorpins 570 with respect to the metal terminal 540B can be selected fromtwo kinds: a first fitting form Q1 and a second fitting form Q2described below.

(1) First Fitting Form Q1

Fitting form in which two connector pins 570 are respectively insertedin the insertion hole 600A of the second wide part 614B and theinsertion hole 600B of the third wide part 614C so that the tip ends ofthe two connector pins 570 are directed rightward and the positions ofthe tip ends in the X-direction are matched with each other.

(2) Second fitting form Q2 Fitting form in which two connector pins 570are respectively inserted in the insertion hole 600B of the third widepart 614C and the insertion hole 600A of the fourth wide part 614D sothat the tip ends of the two connector pins 570 are directed upward andthe positions of the tip ends in the Y-direction are matched with eachother.

Note that, in the case where ends of a winding are connected to themetal terminal 540B, and the electronic component such as the chipcapacitor 550 and the connector pins 570 are mounted and fitted to themetal terminal 540B, the ends of the winding are respectively connectedto the vicinities of tip ends of the winding connecting parts 612A,612B, and the coupling part 616E for connecting the two mounting parts610A, 610B on which the electronic component such as the chip capacitor550 is disposed is cut. Further, a coupling part positioned between thetwo connector pins 570 is cut. For example, in the first fitting formQ1, the coupling part 616B is cut, and in the second fitting form Q2,the coupling part 616C is cut.

FIG. 20 is a schematic plan view illustrating another example of themetal terminal used for manufacturing the antenna coil componentaccording to the second embodiment, specifically, illustrating the metalterminal 540C illustrated in FIG. 14 in an enlarged state.

The metal terminal 540C illustrated in FIG. 20 has the same shape andstructure as those of the metal terminal 540A illustrated in FIG. 15except that the arrangement positions and opening shapes of theinsertion holes 600 are partially different from those of the metalterminal 540A illustrated in FIG. 15. In this case, in the metalterminal 540C illustrated in FIG. 20, a total of four insertion holes600 are provided. Specifically, one insertion hole 600A whose openingshape is rectangular is provided in a center portion of the first widepart 614A so that a long side of the insertion hole 600A is parallel tothe X-direction, one insertion hole 600B whose opening shape is a crossshape is provided in a center portion of the second wide part 614B, oneinsertion hole 600B whose opening shape is a cross shape is provided ina center portion of the third wide part 614C, and one insertion hole600A whose opening shape is rectangular is provided in a center portionof the fourth wide part 614D so that a long side of the insertion hole600A is parallel to the X-direction. Note that, the insertion holes 600Bprovided in the second wide part 614B and the third wide part 614C arerespectively disposed so that a horizontal axis line and a vertical axisline of the cross shape are respectively matched with the X-directionand the Y-direction. Therefore, in the case where the connector pins 570are fitted to the metal terminal 540C through the two insertion holes600B, the connector pins 570 can be inserted in the insertion holes 600Bby selecting any of a form in which the tip end of the connector pin 570is directed to the X-direction side and a form in which the tip end ofthe connector pin 570 is directed in the Y-direction side.

Therefore, in the case where two connector pins 570 are fitted to themetal terminal 540C illustrated in FIG. 20, there exist three kinds offitting forms. FIG. 21 is a schematic view illustrating a state in whichtwo connector pins 570 are fitted to the metal terminal 540C illustratedin FIG. 20. As illustrated in FIG. 21, the fitting form of the connectorpins 570 with respect to the metal terminal 540C can be selected fromthree kinds: a first fitting form R1, a second fitting form R2, and athird fitting form R3 described below.

(1) First Fitting Form R1

Fitting form in which two connector pins 570 are respectively insertedin the insertion hole 600A of the first wide part 614A and the insertionhole 600B of the second wide part 614B so that the tip ends of the twoconnector pins 570 are directed downward and the positions of the tipends in the Y-direction are matched with each other.

(2) Second fitting form R2 Fitting form in which two connector pins 570are respectively inserted in the insertion hole 600B of the second widepart 614B and the insertion hole 600B of the third wide part 614C sothat the tip ends of the two connector pins 570 are directed rightwardand the positions of the tip ends in the X-direction are matched witheach other.

(3) Third fitting form R3 Fitting form in which two connector pins 570are respectively inserted in the insertion hole 600B of the third widepart 614C and the insertion hole 600A of the fourth wide part 614D sothat the tip ends of the two connector pins 570 are directed upward andthe positions of the tip ends in the Y-direction are matched with eachother.

Note that, in the case where ends of a winding are connected to themetal terminal 540C, and the electronic component such as the chipcapacitor 550 and the connector pins 570 are mounted and fitted to themetal terminal 540C, the ends of the winding are respectively connectedto the vicinities of tip ends of the winding connecting parts 612A,612B, and the coupling part 616E for connecting the two mounting parts610A, 610B on which the electronic component such as the chip capacitor550 is disposed is cut. Further, a coupling part positioned between thetwo connector pins 570 is cut. For example, in the first fitting formR1, the coupling part 616A is cut. In the second fitting form. R2, thecoupling part 616B is cut. In the third fitting form R3, the couplingpart 616C is cut.

As described above, the metal terminal 540 provided with 3 or moreinsertion holes 600 is used in the antenna coil component 510 accordingto the second embodiment, and hence the connector pins 570 can be fittedto the metal terminal 540 by selecting a desired fitting form from 2 ormore kinds of fitting forms. Further, in the antenna coil component 510according to the second embodiment, (1) as in the opening shape of theinsertion hole 600A illustrated in FIG. 15, all the insertion holes 600provided in the metal terminal 540 may have an opening shape enablingthe connector pin 570 to be inserted to be fixed to the metal terminal540 so that the tip end of the connector pin 570 can be aligned only inone kind of direction (note that, the insertion hole 600 having thisopening shape is referred to as “first insertion hole”) or (2) as in theinsertion hole 600B illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 20, at least oneinsertion hole 600 selected from all the insertion holes 600 provided inthe metal terminal 540 may have an opening shape enabling the connectorpin 570 to be inserted to be fixed to the metal terminal 540 so that thetip end of the connector pin 570 can be aligned in any directionselected from two kinds (or 2 or more kinds) of different directions(note that, the insertion hole 600 having this opening shape is referredto as “second insertion hole”).

Note that, from the viewpoint of realizing more kinds of fitting formsof the connector pin 570 despite a small total number of insertion holes600 provided in the metal terminal 540, it is particularly preferredthat the metal terminal 540 have the first insertion hole and the secondinsertion hole as in the metal terminal 540B illustrated in FIG. 18 andthe metal terminal 540C illustrated in FIG. 20.

Further, it is sufficient that the number of the wide parts 614 capableof being provided with the insertion holes 600 be at least three, butthe number of the wide parts 614 is preferably four as illustrated inFIGS. 15, 18, and 20, and 5 or more wide parts 614 can also be provided.Further, although there is no particular limit to an upper limit of thenumber of the wide parts 614 provided in the metal terminal 540, thenumber of the wide parts 614 is 10 or less practically. Note that, inthe case where 5 or more wide parts 614 are provided, for example, inthe metal terminal 540 illustrated in FIGS. 15, 18, and 20, (1) one ortwo new wide parts 614 can be provided between the second wide part 614Band the third wide part 614C, (2) an interval between the first widepart 614A and the second wide part 614B in the X-direction can bewidened, and then one or two new wide parts 614 can be provided betweenthe first wide part 614A and the second wide part 614B, and (3) aninterval between the third wide part 614C and the fourth wide part 614Din the X-direction can be widened, and then one or two new wide parts614 can be provided between the third wide part 614C and the fourth widepart 614D.

In this case, a combination (α, β) of the number α of the firstinsertion holes and the number β of the second insertion holes can beselected from, for example, (2, 1), (3, 1), (4, 1), (2, 2), and (3, 2).Further, it is preferred that the arrangement position of the secondinsertion hole in the metal terminal 540 be one or both of two cornerportions farthest from the bobbin 520 (as a specific example, the secondwide part 614B and/or the third wide part 614C as illustrated in FIG. 18or 20) in a state in which the metal terminal 540 is mounted to theantenna coil component 510.

Note that, the connector pin 570 may be inserted in the insertion hole600 with the axial direction of the fitting part 574 being bent inadvance so as to be substantially orthogonal to the axial direction ofthe pin body part 572 as illustrated in FIG. 16B. Alternatively, afterthe connector pin 570 extending in a straight manner is inserted in theinsertion hole 600, the tip end of the connector pin 570 may be directedin a predetermined direction by bending an intermediate portion of thestraight connector pin 570 at an angle of 90° as illustrated in FIG.16B. In the case of using the connector pin 570 extending in a straightmanner, the connector pin 570 can be easily inserted in the insertionhole 600 by applying sufficient pressing force to the straight connectorpin 570 from the axial direction of the insertion hole 600. Note that,in the case of fitting the connector pin 570 to the metal terminal 540,the connector pin 570 may be fixed to the metal terminal 540 merely byinserting the connector pin 570 in the insertion hole 600, but from theviewpoint of ensuring the reliable connection, welding such as solderingmay be further performed.

Further, the opening shape of the first insertion hole is not limited toa rectangular shape as in the insertion hole 600A illustrated in FIGS.15, 18, and 20, and the opening shape of the second insertion hole isnot limited to a cross shape or an L-shape formed by combining tworectangular shapes (opening shape of the insertion hole 600A) as in theinsertion hole 600B illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 20. Those opening shapesare appropriately selected in accordance with a sectional shape of thefitting part 574 of the connector pin 570 to be used. For example, ifthe sectional shape of the fitting part 574 of the connector pin 570 isa regular polygon such as a regular triangle, a square, a regularhexagon, and a regular octagon, the opening shape of the insertion hole600 can also be set to a regular polygon having a shape and a sizesubstantially matched with the regular polygon of the cross-sectionalshape of the fitting part 574. Note that, when the opening shape of theinsertion hole 600 is a regular polygon, the connector pin 570 can befitted to the metal terminal so that the tip end of the connector pin570 is aligned in any direction selected from 2 or more kinds ofdirections.

Next, the base 530 is described in more detail. FIG. 22 is an enlargedtop view illustrating an example of the base forming the antenna coilcomponent according to the second embodiment, specifically, illustratingthe enlarged structure of the base 530 illustrated in FIG. 14 in moredetail. In this case, the example illustrated in FIG. 22 shows a statein which the metal terminal 540C before the connector pins 570 and theelectronic component such as the chip capacitor 550 are fitted andmounted thereto is fixed to the base 530. Further, the dotted line inFIG. 22 indicates a contour line of the metal terminal 540C, which isnot originally seen because the contour line is covered with the base530. Further, FIG. 23 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion takenalong the line B-B of FIG. 22.

The base 530 is provided with five opening parts 532 passing through thebase 530 in a thickness direction of the base 530. That is, (1) a firstopening part 532A (532) whose opening shape is substantially square inwhich vertical and horizontal sides are parallel to the Y-direction andthe X-direction is provided in a lower left side portion of the base530, (2) a second opening part 532B (532) whose opening shape isrectangular in which a long side is parallel to the X-direction isprovided in a region from a lower center portion to a lower right sideportion of the base 530, (3) a third opening part 532C (532) whoseopening shape is rectangular in which a long side is parallel to theY-direction is provided in an upper right side portion of the base 530,(4) a fourth opening part 532D (532) whose opening shape is rectangularin which a long side is parallel to the X-direction is provided in aregion from an upper center portion to an upper left side portion of thebase 530, and (5) a fifth opening part 532E (532) whose opening shape isrectangular in which a long side is parallel to the Y-direction isprovided in a left center portion of the base 530.

Specifically, the first opening part 532A is provided so as tocorrespond to the first wide part 614A, the second opening part 532B isprovided so as to correspond to the second wide part 614B and a part ofthe coupling part 616A, the third opening part 532C is provided so as tocorrespond to the third wide part 614C and a part of the coupling part616B, the fourth opening part 532D is provided so as to correspond tothe fourth wide part 614D and a part of the coupling part 616C, and thefifth opening part 532E is provided so as to correspond to the mountingparts 610A, 610B, a part of the coupling part 616D, and the couplingpart 616E.

Therefore, in the five opening parts 532, the main parts of the metalterminal 540C, that is, a portion obtained by excluding a part or awhole of a peripheral portion of the wide part 614, portions of thecoupling parts 616A, 616B, 616C, 616D, a whole of the mounting part610A, a portion obtained by excluding a part in the vicinity on a leftend side of the mounting part 610B, and a whole of the coupling part616E are exposed. Therefore, in order to configure a desired electriccircuit such as an LC series resonance circuit, and enable the antennacoil component 510 to be connected to external equipment, a desiredposition selected from the coupling parts 616A, 616B, 616C, 616D, 616Ecan be cut, the electronic component such as the chip capacitor 550 canbe connected by soldering so as to bridge the mounting parts 610A and610B, and the connector pin 570 can be fitted to the metal terminal 540Cthrough the opening parts 532.

Note that, at least one dimension selected from the dimension in theX-direction and the dimension in the Y-direction of each of the firstopening part 532A, the second opening part 532B, the third opening part532C, and the fourth opening part 532D, in which the wide part 614 isexposed, is set to be one size smaller than at least one dimensionselected from the in the X-direction and the dimension in theY-direction of the wide part 614 so as to fix the peripheral portion ofthe wide part 614 so that the peripheral portion is buried in the base530.

Further, in an upper surface 530S of the base 530, the peripheries ofthe first opening part 532A, the second opening part 532B, the thirdopening part 532C, and the fourth opening part 532D, in which the wideparts 614 are exposed, are provided with guide grooves 534 extendingfrom the opening parts 532A, 532B, 532C, 532D sides to the peripheralportion of the upper surface 530S of the base 530. The guide grooves 534are provided at positions corresponding to the first fitting form R1,the second fitting form R2, and the third fitting form R3 of the metalterminal 540C illustrated in FIG. 21. Therefore, when the connector pin570 is fitted to the metal terminal 540C through the insertion hole 600,the connector pin 570 can be more stably fixed to the metal terminal540C by fitting the pin body part 572 in the guide groove 534.

Note that, from the viewpoint of stably fixing the connector pin 570, itis preferred that the width (length Wg in FIG. 23) of the guide groove534 be slightly narrower than the width (length Wp in FIG. 16) of theconnector pin 570. A depth D of the guide groove 534 can beappropriately selected in a range equal to or smaller than the distancefrom an upper surface 540S of the metal terminal 540 to the uppersurface of the base 530. Further, left and right inner wall surfaces534L, 534R of the guide groove 534 may be provided with, for example,one or more hook portions such as cut-away grooves or protrusionsextending in a direction parallel to the upper surface 530S in adirection of the depth D of the guide groove 534. In this case, byappropriately using the hook portion, the connector pin 570 can be fixedin the guide groove 534 with the pin body part 572 hooked at anyposition in the direction of the depth D of the guide groove 534. Thus,the connector pin 570 can be easily fixed so that the tip end of theconnector pin 570 is disposed at a desired position in a direction ofthe thickness of the base 530.

Further, from the viewpoint of further increasing the connectionstrength between the connector pin 570 and the metal terminal 540C andenhancing a waterproofing property, the base 530 portion may be coveredwith a resin material after the connector pin 570 is fitted to the metalterminal 540C.

Next, an antenna unit using the antenna coil component 510 according tothe second embodiment is described. FIG. 24 is an exploded plan viewillustrating an example of the antenna unit according to the secondembodiment. An antenna unit 700 illustrated in FIG. 24 includes theantenna coil component 510 with the chip capacitor 550 illustrated inFIG. 14 mounted thereon, a bar-shaped magnetic core 710 disposed in thebobbin 520 of the antenna coil component 510, a tubular grommet 720, anda bottomed tubular case 730 for accommodating the antenna coil component510 accommodating the magnetic core 710 and the grommet 720. Note that,unlike FIG. 14, FIG. 24 illustrates a state in which a winding 560 iswound around the outer circumferential surface 522 of the bobbin 520 inthe antenna coil component 510 illustrated in FIG. 24. The connectorpins 570 are further fitted to the metal terminal 540C in the secondfitting form R2 of FIG. 21, the two winding connecting parts 612A, 612Bare respectively connected to the winding 560 by binding one end of thewinding 560, and the coupling part 616B is cut in a portion exposed inthe opening part 532C. Further, in FIG. 24, the coupling part 616E iscompletely removed by cutting.

Note that, the metal terminal 540C which has been one continuous memberin the manufacturing process is formed of three portions (metalterminals) physically separated independently by being cut in thecoupling parts 616B and 616E in a state of the antenna coil component510 illustrated in FIG. 24. That is, the metal terminal 540C in theantenna coil component 510 includes (1) a metal terminal formed of thewinding connecting part 612B, the first wide part 614A, the couplingpart 616A, the second wide part 614B, and a part of the coupling part616B, (2) a metal terminal formed of a part of the coupling part 616B,the third wide part 614C, the coupling part 616C, the fourth wide part614D, the coupling part 616D, and the mounting part 610A, and (3) ametal terminal formed of the mounting part 610B and the windingconnecting part 612A.

Then, the antenna coil component 510 is accommodated in the case 730together with the grommet 720 so that the base 530 side is directed toan opening part 732 side of the case 730 in a state in which the grommet720 is mounted so as to cover the base 530 portion. Further, the openingpart 732 of the case 730 for accommodating the antenna coil component510 and the like is sealed with a sealing member such as a resinmaterial.

A method of manufacturing the antenna coil component 510 according tothe second embodiment is not particularly limited, and the antenna coilcomponent 510 can be manufactured through use of any known manufacturingmethod appropriately. For example, the metal terminal 540C illustratedin FIG. 20 or a metal member formed of an outer frame and the metalterminal 540C connected to the outer frame is disposed in a mold, andthereafter, a resin is injection-molded in the mold. Thus, the base 530formed of a resin material is formed, and at the same time, apart of themetal terminal 540C is buried in and fixed to the base 530 asillustrated in FIGS. 22 and 23. Note that, in the case of using themetal member for performing the injection molding step, an unnecessaryportion (outer frame) other than the metal terminal 540C is removed bycutting after the injection molding step is performed. Further, the base530 and the bobbin 520 may be joined to each other after the base 530and the bobbin 520 are manufactured separately. However, in general, thebobbin 520 as well as the base 530 is integrally formed during injectionmolding. This enables the antenna coil component 510 having a minimalconfiguration to be obtained.

Further, after the injection molding step is completed, the winding 560is wound around the bobbin 520, and the ends of the winding 560 areconnected to the winding connecting parts 612A, 612B. In addition, forexample, after the coupling part 616E is cut, the electronic componentsuch as the chip capacitor 550 may be soldered so as to bridge themounting parts 610A and 610B, and further, before or after the cuttingof the coupling part 616B, the connector pins may be fitted to the metalterminal 540C in the second fitting form R2 illustrated in FIG. 21.

Note that, when the metal terminal 540 having 3 or more insertion holes600 enabling a connector pin to be fitted by selecting a desired fittingform from 2 or more kinds of fitting forms is used as in the metalterminals 540A, 540B, 540C, the structure of the antenna coil component510 according to the second embodiment and the method of manufacturingthe antenna coil component 510 according to the second embodiment arenot particularly limited. For example, as the structure of the antennacoil component 510 according to the second embodiment, the structure ofthe antenna coil component according to the first embodiment and/or thestructure of the antenna coil component according to the thirdembodiment described later may be further adopted, and the structures ofother known antenna coil components can be further adopted. Further, asthe method of manufacturing the antenna coil component 510 according tothe second embodiment, at least one manufacturing method selected fromthe method of manufacturing an antenna coil component according to thefirst embodiment and methods of manufacturing antenna coil componentsaccording to the third to fifth embodiments described later may be used,other known methods of manufacturing antenna coil components can also beused, and those manufacturing methods may be combined appropriately.

Third Embodiment

Next, the third embodiment is described. First, when an antenna coilcomponent is manufactured, in general, an electronic component such as achip capacitor can be soldered to a mounting part of a metal terminalfixed to a base formed of a resin material by a spot reflow method. Inthe spot reflow method, soldering can be performed by local heating, andhence manufacturing efficiency of the spot reflow method is higher thanthat of soldering using a reflow furnace. As specific examples of thespot reflow method, a hot blast nozzle system of performing soldering byjetting hot blast from a nozzle and an optical beam system of performingsoldering by irradiating an object with focused light from a lightsource such as a halogen lamp or irradiating an object with laser lightare known. However, when heating is weak during soldering by the spotreflow method, it takes a long period of time to melt solder, resultingin a decrease in productivity. On the other hand, when heating isincreased so as to accelerate the melting of solder, heat is transmittedfrom the mounting part of the metal terminal to the base, and inaddition, the electronic component is also strongly heated. Therefore,an insulating material such as a resin forming the base and/or theelectronic component is likely to be thermally damaged.

The third embodiment has been made in view of the above-mentionedcircumstance, and it is an object of the third embodiment to provide amethod of manufacturing an antenna coil component capable of suppressingthermal damages to members on the periphery of a solder connecting partwithout increasing a period of time required for soldering in the caseof soldering an electronic component to a metal terminal by a spotreflow method during manufacturing of an antenna coil component, and anantenna coil component and an antenna unit using the manufacturingmethod.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a method ofmanufacturing an antenna coil component according to the thirdembodiment includes at least: an injection molding step of molding atleast a base formed of a resin material and simultaneously burying afixing part in the base by disposing a metal member in a mold andinjecting the resin material into the mold, the metal member includingat least the fixing part, a plate-shaped mounting part provided at aposition spaced from the fixing part, and a neck part for connecting thefixing part and the mounting part to each other; and a soldering step ofsoldering an electronic component to the mounting part, in which (I) asthe metal member, a metal member processed in advance is used so thatthe thickness of the mounting part is smaller than that of the neckpart, or (II) a mounting part pressing step of pressing the mountingpart is performed so that the thickness of the mounting part is smallerthan that of the neck part after the injection molding step, and thesoldering step is performed after the mounting part pressing step.

Further, the antenna coil component according to the third embodimentincludes at least: a tubular bobbin formed of an insulating material; awinding wound around an outer circumferential side of the bobbin; a baseprovided at least on one end side of the bobbin and formed of a resinmaterial; and a metal terminal having conductivity and including afixing part fixed into the base, a mounting part provided at a positionspaced from the base, and a neck part for connecting the fixing part andthe mounting part to each other, in which the thickness of the mountingpart is smaller than that of the neck part.

Further, the antenna unit according to the third embodiment includes atleast: the antenna coil component according to the third embodiment; amagnetic core disposed in the bobbin; an electronic component solderedto the mounting part of the metal terminal; and a case for accommodatingthe antenna coil component.

In the case of manufacturing the antenna coil component according to thethird embodiment, first, the injection molding step is performed throughuse of a metal member. As the metal member, for example, a metal memberillustrated in FIG. 25 can be used.

A metal member 800 illustrated in FIG. 25 is a plate-shaped memberincluding an outer frame 810 having a U-shape brought down to the leftside and a metal terminal 540D (540) connected to the vicinities of bothends of the outer frame 810 so as to be positioned inside the outerframe 810. Note that, the plate thickness of the metal terminal 540Dconnected to the outer frame 810 is identical in any portion. In thiscase, the metal terminal 540D is a member having the same structure asthat of the metal terminal 540C illustrated in FIG. 20 except that thestructures of a mounting part 910A (910), a mounting part 910B (910),and the vicinity of a connecting part between the mounting part 910B anda winding connecting part 912A are different. In the metal terminal540D, the tip end of the winding connecting part 912A and the tip end ofa winding connecting part 912B are each connected to the outer frame810. In the course of manufacturing an antenna coil component, the metalterminal 540D and the outer frame 810 are disconnected from each otherwith a boundary line CL1 between the winding connecting part 912A andthe outer frame 810 and a boundary line CL2 between the windingconnecting part 912B and the outer frame 810 being cutting lines. Notethat, the mounting part 910A, the mounting part 910B, the windingconnecting part 912A, the winding connecting part 912B, a fourth widepart 914D, a coupling part 916D, and a coupling part 916E illustrated inFIG. 25 are members respectively corresponding to the mounting part610A, the mounting part 610B, the winding connecting part 612A, thewinding connecting part 612B, the fourth wide part 614D, the couplingpart 616D, and the coupling part 616E illustrated in FIG. 20.

In this case, the metal terminal 540D illustrated in FIG. 25 isdifferent from the metal terminal 540C illustrated in FIG. 20 in thatthe mounting parts 910A, 910B are set to be one size smaller, and thewinding connecting part 912A is connected to a lower side of themounting part 910B.

In the injection molding step, a base formed of a resin material is atleast molded and simultaneously a part (fixing part) of the metalterminal 540D is buried in the base by disposing the metal member 800 ina mold and thereafter injecting a resin material into the mold. Wheninjection molding is performed, for example, the base 530 as illustratedin FIG. 22 can be formed.

FIG. 26 is a top view illustrating an arrangement relationship betweenthe metal terminal 540D and the base 530 in the vicinity of the mountingpart 910 of the metal terminal 540D in the case where the metal terminal540D illustrated in FIG. 25 is fixed to the base 530 illustrated in FIG.22 by injection molding, specifically, illustrating an enlargedarrangement position of the metal terminal 540D in the vicinity of theopening part 532E. As illustrated in FIG. 26, in the opening part 532E,the mounting parts 910A, 910B, the coupling part 916E, a part (neck part950A (950)) of the coupling part 916D, and a part (neck part 950B (950))of the winding connecting part 912A are exposed. Further, the couplingpart 916D other than the neck part 950A serves as a portion (fixing part960A (960)) buried in and fixed to the resin material forming the base530. Further, in the winding connecting part 912A in the vicinity of theopening part 532E, the winding connecting part 912A other than the neckpart 950B also serves as a portion (fixing part 960B (960)) buried inand fixed to the resin material forming the base 530.

That is, the metal terminal 540D includes a portion serving as thefixing part 960, a portion serving as the plate-shaped mounting part 910provided at a position spaced from the fixing part 960, and a portionserving as the neck part 950 for connecting the fixing part 960 and themounting part 910 to each other when the antenna coil component 510 ismanufactured.

In this case, in related art, after the coupling part 916E is cut, asoldering step is performed, in which an electronic component such asthe chip capacitor 550 is soldered to the mounting parts 910A, 910B by aspot reflow method under the state in which the electronic component isdisposed so as to bridge the mounting parts 910A and 910B. However, inthe method of manufacturing an antenna coil component according to thethird embodiment, the mounting part pressing step of pressing themounting part 910 so that the thickness of the mounting part 910 issmaller than that of the neck part 950 is performed after the injectionmolding step, and the soldering step is performed after the mountingpart pressing step. Note that, the pressing method is not particularlylimited. The pressing can be performed, for example, by applying apressure to the mounting parts 910A, 910B by punching from upper andlower surface sides of the mounting parts 910A, 910B. Thus, the mountingparts 910A, 910B are extended thinly in planar directions thereof. Inthis case, the peripheral portion of the mounting part 910A and theperipheral portion of the mounting part 910B are prevented from cominginto contact with each other.

Further, it is preferred that the peripheral portions of the mountingparts 910A, 910B be pressed so as not to come into contact with an innerwall surface of the opening part 532E, either. In addition, it ispreferred that the mounting parts 910A, 910B be pressed so that theshape and size thereof after pressing become substantially the same.Further, when the mounting part pressing step is performed, for example,the mounting part pressing step may be performed after cutting thecoupling part 916E at both ends thereof and removing the coupling part916E in advance, or the coupling part 916E may be removed by cuttingafter the mounting part pressing step is performed.

FIG. 27 is an enlarged top view illustrating an example of the vicinityof the opening part 532E after the mounting part pressing step iscompleted with respect to the metal terminal 540D illustrated in FIG.26, specifically, illustrating a state after the mounting part pressingstep is performed with respect to the mounting parts 910A, 910Billustrated in FIG. 26 and the coupling part 916E is removed by cutting.Further, FIG. 28 is a sectional view illustrating an example of asectional structure of the metal terminal 540D taken along the line C-Cof FIG. 27. As illustrated in FIGS. 27 and 28, each planar shape of themounting parts 910A, 910B spreads more than the vertical and horizontalsizes before pressing (shape indicated by the dotted line of FIG. 27),and each thickness of the mounting parts 910A, 910B is smaller than thatof the neck parts 950A, 950B.

Thus, in the case of performing the soldering step through use of thespot reflow method, the mounting part 910 after pressing has a shapewhich is thinner and spreads more compared to the mounting part 910before pressing. Therefore, the heating efficiency of the mounting part910 per unit area is enhanced significantly. Therefore, compared to arelated-art method of manufacturing an antenna coil component in whichthe mounting part 910 is not pressed, in the method of manufacturing anantenna coil component according to the third embodiment, the electroniccomponent such as the chip capacitor 550 can be soldered to the mountingpart 910 even without heating the vicinity of the mounting part 910strongly over a long period of time. Thus, thermal damages to themembers positioned on the periphery of the solder connecting partbetween the mounting part 910 and the electronic component can besuppressed more easily than the related art. For example, thedegradation and deformation of a resin material forming the base 530 inthe vicinity of the boundary between the neck part 950 and the fixingpart 960 can be suppressed, and the damages and deterioration inperformance of the electronic component caused by thermal shock can besuppressed. In addition, as a resin material forming the base 530, italso becomes very easy to adopt a heat-labile resin as a generallyinexpensive resin material although it has poor heat resistance.

Note that, from the viewpoint of ensuring the above-mentioned effect andensuring the strength of the mounting part 910 in a balanced manner, itis preferred that a thickness Tm of the mounting part 910 in a stateafter the antenna coil component 510 is completed be in a range of about⅓ to about ⅔ of a thickness Tn of the neck part 950. For example, whenthe thickness Tn is 0.64 mm, the thickness Tm can be set to 0.21 mm to0.43 mm.

Further, in the case of considering the mounting stability of theelectronic component such as the chip capacitor 550, in particular, thearea of a solder fillet between the electronic component and themounting part 910, it is preferred that the ratio (Wm/Wn) of a width Wmof the mounting part 910 with respect to a width Wn of the neck part 950be in a range of 1.5 to 4.5 in a state after the antenna coil component510 is completed.

The width Wm of the mounting part 910 refers to the maximum length in adirection substantially orthogonal to a direction from the fixing part960 to the mounting part 910 and substantially parallel to front andrear surfaces of the mounting part 910, in other words, the maximumlength in a direction parallel to the width direction of the neck part950.

Note that, in the method of manufacturing an antenna coil componentaccording to the third embodiment, a metal member processed in advanceso that the thickness of the mounting part 910 becomes smaller than thatof the neck part 950 may be used as the metal member 800 used formanufacturing the antenna coil component 510, instead of performing theabove-mentioned mounting part pressing step. Further, as the solderingstep, a soldering method of a known local heating system such as thespot reflow method can be used appropriately.

Note that, the antenna coil component 510 according to the thirdembodiment can be manufactured in the same way as in manufacturing ofthe antenna coil component 510 according to the second embodiment exceptfor the above-mentioned points. Further, the method of manufacturing anantenna coil component according to the third embodiment may be usedtogether with at least one manufacturing method selected from the methodof manufacturing an antenna coil component according to the firstembodiment, a method of manufacturing an antenna coil componentaccording to the fourth embodiment described later, a method ofmanufacturing an antenna coil component according to the fifthembodiment described later, and other known methods of manufacturing anantenna coil component.

The structure of the antenna coil component 510 according to the thirdembodiment may be the same as that of the antenna coil component 10according to the first embodiment and/or that of the antenna coilcomponent 510 according to the second embodiment as long as thethickness of the mounting part 910 is smaller than that of the neck part950 in a state after the antenna coil component is completed or may bedifferent from the antenna coil component 10 according to the firstembodiment and the antenna coil component 510 according to the secondembodiment. Further, the structure of a known antenna coil component canalso be adopted appropriately.

Specifically, it is sufficient that the antenna coil component 510according to the third embodiment include at least: a tubular bobbin 520formed of an insulating material; a winding 560 wound around an outercircumferential side of the bobbin 520; a base 530 provided at least onone end side of the bobbin 520 and formed of a resin material; and themetal terminal 540D having conductivity and including the fixing part960 fixed into the base 530, the mounting part 910 provided at aposition spaced from the base 530, and the neck part 950 for connectingthe fixing part 960 and the mounting part 910 to each other. In thiscase, a thickness Tm of the mounting part 910 is smaller than athickness Tn of the neck part 950. Further, an antenna unit 700according to the third embodiment includes at least: the antenna coilcomponent 510 according to the third embodiment; a magnetic core 710disposed in the bobbin 520; an electronic component (for example, a chipcapacitor 550) soldered to the mounting part 910 of the metal terminal540D; and a case 730 for accommodating the antenna coil component.

Fourth Embodiment

Next, the fourth embodiment is described. First, when an antenna coilcomponent is manufactured, an electronic component such as a chipcapacitor is soldered to a mounting part of a metal terminal. Forsoldering, in general, a reflow furnace for heating an entire antennacoil component is used. Therefore, as a resin material forming theantenna coil component, it is necessary to use a heat-resistant resinwhich is unlikely to be changed in size or degraded even by heating inthe reflow furnace. However, the heat-resistant resin is generally moreexpensive than a heat-labile resin, and as a result, a manufacturingcost of an antenna coil component becomes high.

It is an object of the fourth embodiment to provide a method ofmanufacturing an antenna coil component using a process of soldering anelectronic component to a mounting part of a metal terminal withoutusing a reflow furnace.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a method ofmanufacturing an antenna coil component according to the fourthembodiment includes at least: an injection molding step of molding atleast a base formed of a resin material and simultaneously burying afixing part in the base by disposing a metal member in a mold andinjecting the resin material into the mold, the metal member includingat least the fixing part and a plate-shaped mounting part connected tothe fixing part directly or connected thereto indirectly throughintermediation of a neck part; and a soldering step of soldering anelectronic component to the mounting part, in which the soldering stepincludes any manufacturing process selected from a first manufacturingprocess and a second manufacturing process described below.

<First Manufacturing Process>

A manufacturing process involves the following in the stated order:

-   -   (1) a mounting part heating step of heating one surface of a        mounting part;    -   (2) a solder supply step of supplying solder to the other        surface of the mounting part; and    -   (3) an electronic component arrangement step of arranging an        electronic component on the other surface to which the solder        has been supplied.

<Second Manufacturing Process>

A manufacturing process involves the following in the stated order:

-   -   (1) a solder supply step of supplying solder to one surface of        the mounting part;    -   (2) an electronic component arrangement step of arranging an        electronic component on one surface to which the solder has been        supplied; and    -   (3) a mounting part heating step of heating the other surface of        the mounting part.

First, in the method of manufacturing an antenna coil componentaccording to the fourth embodiment, for example, each step can beperformed through use of a metal member 1000 illustrated in FIG. 29. Inthis case, a metal member 1000 illustrated in FIG. 29 is a plate-shapedmember including an outer frame 1010 having a U-shape brought down tothe left side and a metal terminal 540E (540) connected to thevicinities of both ends of the outer frame 1010 so as to be positionedinside the outer frame 1010. In this case, the metal terminal 540E is amember having the same structure as that of the metal terminal 540Cillustrated in FIG. 20 except that the structure of the vicinity of aconnecting part between a mounting part 1110B (1110) and a windingconnecting part 1112A is different. Further, regarding the shape of theouter frame 1010, the connection form between the outer frame 1010 andthe metal terminal 540E, and the boundary line between the outer frame1010 and the metal terminal 540E, the metal member 1000 illustrated inFIG. 29 has the same structure as that of the metal member 800illustrated in FIG. 25. Note that, the mounting part 1110A (1110), themounting part 1110B, the winding connecting part 1112A, the windingconnecting part 1112B, a fourth wide part 1114D, a coupling part 1116D,and a coupling part 1116E illustrated in FIG. 29 are members eachcorresponding to the mounting part 610A, the mounting part 610B, thewinding connecting part 612A, the winding connecting part 612B, thefourth wide part 614D, the coupling part 616D, and the coupling part616E illustrated in FIG. 20.

In this case, the metal terminal 540E illustrated in FIG. 29 isdifferent from the metal terminal 540C illustrated in FIG. 20 only inthat the winding connecting part 1112A is connected to a lower side ofthe mounting part 1110B.

In the injection molding step, a base formed of a resin material is atleast molded and simultaneously a part (fixing part) of the metalterminal 540E is buried in the base by disposing the metal member 1000in a mold and thereafter injecting a resin material into the mold. Wheninjection molding is performed, for example, the base 530 as illustratedin FIG. 22 can be formed.

FIG. 30 is an enlarged top view illustrating an arrangement relationshipbetween the metal terminal 540E and the base 530 in the vicinity of themounting part 1110 of the metal terminal 540E in the case where themetal terminal 540E illustrated in FIG. 29 is fixed to the base 530 byinjection molding, specifically, illustrating an enlarged arrangementposition of the metal terminal 540E in the vicinity of the opening part532E. Note that, FIG. 30 illustrates a state after the coupling part1116E is removed by cutting at both ends thereof. Further, FIG. 31 is aschematic sectional view illustrating an example of a sectionalstructure taken along the line D-D of FIG. 30. Note that, in FIG. 31,for convenience of description, the thickness of the metal terminal 540Eis drawn thick with respect to the base 530.

As illustrated in FIGS. 30 and 31, in the opening part 532E, themounting parts 1110A, 1110B, a part (neck part 1150A (1150)) of thecoupling part 1116D, and a part (neck part 1150B (1150)) of the windingconnecting part 1112A are exposed. Further, the coupling part 1116Dother than the neck part 950A serves as a portion (fixing part 1160A(1160)) buried in and fixed to the resin material forming the base 530.Further, in the winding connecting part 1112A in the vicinity of theopening part 532E, the winding connecting part 1112A other than the neckpart 1150B also serves as a portion (fixing part 1160B (1160)) buried inand fixed to the resin material forming the base 530.

Specifically, the metal terminal 540E forming the metal member 1000includes a portion serving as the fixing part 1160, the neck part 1150,and a portion serving as the plate-shaped mounting part 1110 connectedto the fixing part 1160 indirectly through intermediation of the neckpart 1150 when the antenna coil component 510 has been manufactured.Note that, the metal member 1000 may have a structure in which the neckpart 1150 is omitted, and the mounting part 1110 is connected to thefixing part 1160 directly.

Next, the soldering step of soldering an electronic component such asthe chip capacitor 550 to the mounting part 1110 is performed. Thesoldering step can be performed by any of a first manufacturing processand a second manufacturing process described below. Note that, FIGS. 32Ato 32C and 33A to 33C described in the following illustrate the sameportion as the sectional portion illustrated in FIG. 31.

<First Manufacturing Process>

In the first manufacturing process, first, the mounting part heatingstep of heating each one surface (rear surfaces 1110Abt, 1110Bbt) of themounting parts 1110A, 1110B is performed. In the mounting part heatingstep, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 32A, the mounting parts 1110A,1110B are heated directly by bringing a soldering iron 1200, in which atop surface 1200T of a tip end is flat, serving as a local heatingsource into direct contact with the rear surfaces 1110Abt, 1110Bbt. Thetemperature of the tip end of the soldering iron 1200 is selectedappropriately depending on the melting point of solder to be used andthe like, but in general, it is preferred to set the temperature to 220°C. or more. Note that, in order to suppress thermal damages such asdeterioration and deformation of a resin material forming the base 530,it is desired to control the temperature of the tip end of the solderingiron 1200 so that the temperature does not become higher than necessary.Thus, it is preferred to control the temperature of the tip end of thesoldering iron 1200 in a range of about 220° C. to 230° C. Thetemperature setting of the tip end of the soldering iron 1200 ispreferred, in particular, in the case of using a heat-labile resin asthe resin material forming the base 530. Further, as the soldering iron1200 to be used for performing the mounting part heating step, asoldering iron is used which is capable of ensuring a predetermined gapbetween the tip end thereof and the inner wall surface of the openingpart 532 when the soldering iron 1200 is disposed in the opening part532.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 32B, the solder supply step of supplyingsolder 1300 to the other surfaces (surfaces 1110Atp, 1110Btp) of themounting parts 1110A, 1110B is performed. In this case, the mountingparts 1110A, 1110B are heated sufficiently, and hence the soldersupplied onto the surfaces 1110Atp, 1110Btp takes a molten state. Notethat, the method of supplying the solder 1300 is not particularlylimited, and for example, a method of applying cream solder to thesurfaces 1110Atp, 1110Btp with a solder dispenser or a method ofsupplying the solder 1300 onto the surfaces 1110Atp, 1110Btp by meltingthread solder while pressing the thread solder onto the surfaces1110Atp, 1110Btp can be used.

As illustrated in FIG. 32C, the electronic component arrangement step ofarranging an electronic component such as the chip capacitor 550 so thatthe chip capacitor 550 bridges the mounting parts 1110A and 1110B isperformed with respect to the other surfaces (surfaces 1110Atp, 1110Btp)to which the solder 1300 has been supplied.

Note that, the mounting part heating step can be completed at any timingduring a period from a time before the solder supply step is performedto a time after the electronic component arrangement step is completed.However, in general, as illustrated in FIG. 32C, it is desired tocomplete the mounting part heating step in substantially the same periodas the completion of the electronic component arrangement step byseparating the soldering iron 1200 from the rear surfaces 1110Abt,1110Bbt after arranging the electronic component such as the chipcapacitor 550 on the mounting parts 1110A, 1110B. In this case,soldering at lower heating temperature can be performed.

After the electronic component arrangement step is completed, the solder1300 in a molten state is solidified to form a solder connecting part,with the result that the electronic component such as the chip capacitor550 and the mounting parts 1110A, 1110B are soldered to each other.

<Second Manufacturing Process>

On the other hand, in the second manufacturing process, first, asillustrated in FIG. 33A, the solder supply step of supplying the solder1300 to each one surface (surfaces 1110Atp, 1110Btp) of the mountingparts 1110A, 1110B is performed. Note that, the method of supplying thesolder 1300 is not particularly limited, and for example, a method ofapplying cream solder to the surfaces 1110Atp, 1110Btp with a solderdispenser or the like can be adopted. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 33B,the electronic component arrangement step of arranging an electroniccomponent on each one surface (surfaces 1110Atp, 1110Btp) to which thesolder 1300 in a non-molten state has been supplied is performed. Then,the mounting part heating step of heating the other surfaces (rearsurfaces 1110Abt, 1110Bbt) of the mounting parts 1110A, 1110B isperformed. In this case, the mounting part heating step is performed bybringing the soldering iron 1200, in which the top surface 1200T of thetip end is flat, serving as the local heating source into direct contactwith the rear surfaces 1110Abt, 1110Bbt, as illustrated in FIG. 33C.Thus, the mounting parts 1110A, 1110B are directly heated with thesoldering iron 1200. Then, when the solder 1300 in a non-molten state ismelted sufficiently by heating, the mounting part heating step iscompleted by, for example, separating the soldering iron 1200 from therear surfaces 1110Abt, 1110Bbt. Consequently, the solder 1300 in amolten state is solidified to forma solder connecting part, with theresult that the electronic component such as the chip capacitor 550 andthe mounting parts 1110A, 1110B are soldered to each other.

Note that, the second manufacturing process can be performed in the sameway as in the first manufacturing process except that the mounting partheating step, the solder supply step, and the electronic componentarrangement step are different. Further, the second manufacturingprocess is effective in particular in the case where the soldering iron1200 is used as a local heating source and each thickness of themounting parts 1110A, 1110B is small. In this case, the soldering stepcan be completed within a very short period of time such as fiveseconds. Note that, as the case where each thickness of the mountingparts 1110A, 1110B is small, for example, there is given a case wherethe thickness Tm of the mounting part 910 is set to be small withrespect to the thickness Tn of the neck part 950 as in the metalterminal 540D illustrated in FIG. 28 or a case where the thickness ofthe entire metal terminal 540E is small. In the case where only thethickness of the mounting parts 1110A, 1110B or the entire thickness ofthe metal terminal 540E is set to be small, the thickness can be set,for example, in a range of 0.21 mm to 0.43 mm.

In the mounting part heating step in the first manufacturing process andthe second manufacturing process, various local heating sources to beused in the spot reflow method, for example, local heating sources of anindirect heating system such as a hot blast nozzle for performingsoldering by jetting hot blast from a nozzle, a condensing light sourcefor irradiating an object with condensed light from a light source suchas a halogen lamp, and a laser light source for irradiating an objectwith laser light can also be used instead of the soldering iron 1200serving as a local heating source illustrated in FIGS. 32 and 33.However, those local heating sources of an indirect heating system canheat the mounting part 1110 only indirectly because the local heatingsources are disposed at a position spaced from the mounting part 1110.Therefore, when the mounting part heating step is performed, those localheating sources easily cause thermal damages to the resin materialforming the base 530 on the periphery of the opening part 532, comparedto the soldering iron 1200 serving as a local heating source of a directheating system. Further, the soldering iron 1200 has high heatingefficiency, and the facility is inexpensive. Thus, in the mounting partheating step, it is particularly preferred to use the soldering iron1200.

On the other hand, depending on an electronic component to be used,there is a risk in that the electronic component may be thermallydamaged through the mounting part 1110 and the solder 1300 due toheating in the mounting part heating step. For example, in the casewhere the electronic component is the chip capacitor 550, in particular,a laminated ceramics capacitor, cracks are likely to occur due to arapid change in temperature (for example, a change in temperature with atemperature increasing rate of 350° C./sec or more). For example, alaminated ceramics capacitor with a size of 3216 or smaller is generallyrecommended to have a temperature increasing rate during heating and acooling rate during cooling of 150° C./sec or less, and a laminatedceramics capacitor with a size of 3225 or larger is generallyrecommended to have a temperature increasing rate and a cooling rate of130° C./sec or less. Thus, in the case where there is a risk in that anelectronic component may be thermally damaged due to heating in themounting part heating step, it is preferred to perform an electroniccomponent preheating step of preheating an electronic component beforeperforming the electronic component arrangement step in the firstmanufacturing process and the second manufacturing process.

The heating schedule in the electronic component preheating step is notparticularly limited, and it is sufficient that the temperature beincreased so as to exceed room temperature up to a target heatingtemperature set in a range less than the heating temperature in themounting part heating step at a temperature increasing rate equal to orless than the generally recommended temperature increasing rate. Thetarget heating temperature in the electronic component preheating stepcan be selected, for example, in a range of 140° C.±40° C. If theelectronic component is preheated in advance, it becomes very easy toregulate the temperature increasing rate of an electronic component tothe temperature increasing rate equal to or less than the recommendedtemperature increasing rate in the mounting part heating step.

FIG. 34 is a graph showing an example of a heating processing schedulein the case of using the chip capacitor 550 of a laminated ceramicscapacitor type as an electronic component. In FIG. 34, a horizontal axisrepresents time (sec) and a vertical axis represents temperature (° C.),an interval 1H means that the electronic component preheating step isbeing performed, an interval 2H means that the mounting part heatingstep is being performed, and an interval C means that the cooling stepafter the completion of the mounting part heating step is completed. Inthe example illustrated in FIG. 34, first, in the electronic componentpreheating step (interval 1H), the temperature is increased from roomtemperature RT (about 25° C.) to a target control temperature T (1H) ata predetermined temperature increasing rate ΔT(1H), and when the targetcontrol temperature T(1H) is reached, this temperature is kept for awhile. Then, in the mounting part heating step (interval 2H), thetemperature is increased from the target control temperature T(1H) to atarget control temperature T(2H) at a predetermined temperatureincreasing rate ΔT(2H), and when the target control temperature T(2H) isreached, this temperature is kept for a while. After that, in a coolingstep (interval C), the temperature is decreased to the room temperatureRT at a predetermined temperature decreasing rate ΔT(C). In this case,the temperature increasing rates ΔT(1H) and ΔT(2H) can be selectedappropriately from a range of 90 to 130° C./sec, the temperaturedecreasing rate ΔT(C) can be selected appropriately from a range of 10°C./sec to 130° C./sec, the target control temperature T(1H) can beselected appropriately from 140±40° C., and the target controltemperature T(2H) can be selected appropriately from 240±20° C. Further,the cooling step (interval C) may be performed by natural cooling. Notethat, in order to render the temperature increasing rate gentler, forexample, two levels of target control temperature T(1H) may be provided.In this case, the temperature is increased to target control temperatureT(2H) in three stages instead of increasing the temperature to thetarget control temperature T(2H) in two stages as illustrated in FIG.34.

Further, the heating method in the electronic component preheating stepis not particularly limited as long as the desired heating schedule asillustrated in FIG. 34 can be realized. For example, there is given amethod involving disposing electronic components on a belt conveyerwhich moves in one direction at a predetermined speed and heating theelectronic components in this state with a heating source disposed abovethe belt conveyer over a period of time. In this case, as the heatingsource, for example, a halogen heater, a hot blast heater, or the likecan be used.

Note that, the steps other than those described above in detail can beperformed by combining conventionally known steps appropriately asneeded. Thus, the antenna coil component 510 can be manufactured. Notethat, the structure of the antenna coil component 510 manufactured bythe method of manufacturing an antenna coil component according to thefourth embodiment is not particularly limited as long as the structureis a structure to which the method of manufacturing an antenna coilcomponent according to the fourth embodiment is applicable, that is, themounting part 1110 is exposed inside the opening part 532E. Accordingly,as long as an antenna coil component has a structure in which themounting part 1110 is exposed inside the opening part 532E, the methodof manufacturing an antenna coil component according to the fourthembodiment can be applied to manufacturing of any of the antenna coilcomponent 10 according to the first embodiment, the antenna coilcomponent 510 according to the second embodiment, the antenna coilcomponent 510 according to the third embodiment, and a conventionallyknown antenna coil component.

Fifth Embodiment

Next, the fifth embodiment is described. In the case of soldering anelectronic component such as a chip capacitor to a mounting part of ametal terminal fixed to a base formed of a resin material whenmanufacturing an antenna coil component, a local heating method such asa spot reflow method can also be used besides an entire heating methodof heating the entire antenna coil component in the course ofmanufacturing with a reflow furnace. In the case of performing solderingthrough use of the local heating method, the mounting part is subjectedto local heating. However, when the mounting part is subjected to localheating during soldering, there is a risk in that the electroniccomponent such as a chip capacitor may be thermally damaged. Forexample, a chip capacitor, in particular, a laminated ceramics capacitormay be easily cracked.

The fifth embodiment has been made in view of the above-mentionedcircumstance, and it is an object of the fifth embodiment to provide amethod of manufacturing an antenna coil component capable of furthersuppressing thermal damages to an electronic component when solderingthe electronic component to a metal terminal by a local heating methodduring manufacturing of an antenna coil component.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the method ofmanufacturing an antenna coil component according to the fifthembodiment includes at least: an injection molding step of molding atleast abase formed of a resin material and simultaneously burying afixing part in the base by disposing a metal member in a mold andinjecting the resin material into the mold, the metal member includingat least the fixing part and a plate-shaped mounting part which isconnected to the fixing part directly or indirectly and to which an armpart is connected; and a soldering step of soldering an electroniccomponent to the mounting part, in which the soldering step is performedby locally heating at least a part of the arm part.

FIG. 35 is an enlarged top view illustrating an example of the method ofmanufacturing an antenna coil component according to the fifthembodiment, specifically, an enlarged top view illustrating an exampleof a structure in the vicinity of amounting part after a fixing part ofa metal terminal is buried in the base. FIG. 35 illustrates the samestructure as that of the state (FIG. 30) after the coupling part 1116Eis removed by cutting after a part of the metal terminal 540E is fixedso as to be buried in the base 530 as illustrated in FIG. 29 by theinjection molding step. In FIG. 35, a metal terminal 540F (540),amounting part 1410A (1410), a mounting part 1410B (1410), a couplingpart 1416D, a winding connecting part 1412A, a neck part 1450A (1450), aneck part 1450B (1450), a fixing part 1460A (1460), and a fixing part1460B (1460) are respectively the same members, in the shape andstructure, as the metal terminal 540E, the mounting part 1110A, themounting part 1110B, the coupling part 1116D, the winding connectingpart 1112A, the neck part 1150A, the neck part 1150B, the fixing part1160A, and the fixing part 1160B in FIG. 30.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 35, the mounting part 1410A isconnected to the fixing part 1460A indirectly through the neck part1450A, and the mounting part 1410B is connected to the fixing part 1460Bindirectly through the neck part 1450B. In this case, in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 35, when the soldering step is performed, forexample, after solder is supplied to the mounting parts 1410A, 1410B,the electronic component such as the chip capacitor 550 is disposed soas to bridge the mounting parts 1410A and 1410B. Next, the neck parts1450A and 1450B are each heated locally. In this case, a positionindicated by an “X” mark in FIG. 35 is a center point of a place to beheated locally. In this case, the mounting part 1410A is heated throughthe neck part 1450A, and the mounting part 1410B is heated through theneck part 1450B. Therefore, the electronic component such as the chipcapacitor 550 is soldered to the mounting parts 1410A, 1410B.Specifically, in the example illustrated in FIG. 35, the neck part 1450is used as an arm part to be heated locally. In other words, the neckpart 1450 also serves an arm part.

As illustrated in FIG. 35, in the method of manufacturing an antennacoil component according to the fifth embodiment, the mounting part 1410is not locally heated but the arm part (neck part 1450 in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 35) connected to the mounting part 1410 is heatedlocally. Therefore, the temperature increasing rate of the electroniccomponent is rendered gentler and/or the maximum heating temperature ofthe electronic component is decreased easily compared to the case ofheating the mounting part 1410 locally. Therefore, the thermal damagesto the electronic component can be suppressed. Note that, the planarshape and arrangement position of the arm part are not particularlylimited as long as the arm part is a member exposed together with themounting part 1410 and connected to at least the mounting part 1410 inthe opening part 532E of the base 530 after injection molding. However,it is preferred that the planar shape of the arm part be basically aband shape whose width is smaller than the vertical and horizontallengths of the mounting part 1410 as in the neck part 1450 illustratedin FIG. 35.

Note that, in the example illustrated in FIG. 35, soldering may beperformed by disposing the solder 1300 and the electronic componentafter performing local heating in advance. Note that, steps other thanthe injection molding step and the soldering step are not particularlylimited, and known steps or various steps described above can beperformed appropriately. Thus, the antenna coil component 510 accordingto the second embodiment, the antenna coil component 510 according tothe third embodiment, or a known antenna coil component can be obtained.Needless to say, the method of manufacturing an antenna coil componentaccording to the fifth embodiment can also be used for manufacturing theantenna coil component 10 according to the first embodiment. Further, inthe case of performing the soldering step, the method of manufacturingan antenna coil component according to the fifth embodiment may becombined with the method of manufacturing an antenna coil componentaccording to the third embodiment, and in the method of manufacturing anantenna coil component according to the fourth embodiment, the mountingpart 1410 may be heated by bringing the soldering iron 1200 into contactwith the arm part instead of the mounting part 1410. Note that, thosepoints similarly apply to examples illustrated in FIGS. 36 to 38described later.

Note that, in the example illustrated in FIG. 35, the neck part 1450serving as the arm part is adjacent to the fixing part 1460 and has ashort length. Therefore, even when the neck part 1450 is heated locally,a surrounding portion is likely to be heated incidentally because theheat transfer distance from the neck part 1450 to the fixing part 1460is short. Therefore, the resin material forming the base 530 in thevicinity of the fixing part 1460 is likely to be thermally damaged, andin addition, it is difficult to use a heat-labile resin as the resinmaterial in some cases. Thus, in order to facilitate the use of aheat-labile resin as the resin material forming the base 530, it ispreferred that the arm part having a largest possible heat transferdistance from the fixing part 1460 be heated during the soldering step.

FIG. 36 is an enlarged top view illustrating another example of themethod of manufacturing an antenna coil component according to the fifthembodiment, specifically, an enlarged top view illustrating an exampleof the structure in the vicinity of a mounting part after a fixing partof a metal terminal is buried in a base. In the example illustrated inFIG. 36, the opening part 532E is extended to the right side withrespect to the example illustrated in FIG. 35. Further, the metalterminal 540G (540) used in the example illustrated in FIG. 36 has thesame structure as that of the metal terminal 540F illustrated in FIG. 35except that an arm part 1500A having a free end, in which an end is notconnected to or in contact with another member, is connected to theright side of the mounting part 1410A, and an arm part 1500B having afree end, in which an end is not connected to or in contact with anothermember, is connected to the right side of the mounting part 1410B. Notethat, the arm parts 1500A, 1500B have a band shape extending in adirection parallel to the X-direction.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 36, the tip ends of the arm parts1500A, 1500B are heated locally during the soldering step. In this case,a position indicated by an “X” mark in FIG. 36 is a center point of aplace to be heated locally. The mounting part 1410A and the neck part1450A are interposed between the arm part 1500A and the fixing part1460A. That is, in the example illustrated in FIG. 36, the heat transferdistance from the arm part 1500A to the fixing part 1460A is very longcompared to the example illustrated in FIG. 35. This similarly appliesto the arm part 1500B.

Thus, in the example illustrated in FIG. 36, the heat transfer amount tothe base 530 can be greatly suppressed compared to the exampleillustrated in FIG. 35, and hence the thermal damages to the resinmaterial forming the base 530 can be suppressed. Therefore, as the resinmaterial forming the base 530, a heat-labile resin can be also adopted.However, in the example illustrated in FIG. 36, it is necessary tolocally heat two portions, specifically, the tip end of the arm part1500A and the tip end of the arm part 1500B. In this case, it isappropriate to bring the soldering iron 1200 having the top surface1200T in a rectangular shape into contact with the tip end of the armpart 1500A and the tip end of the arm part 1500B while the long side ofthe top surface 1200T is disposed so as to be parallel to theY-direction. Consequently, the two portions, specifically, the tip endof the arm part 1500A and the tip end of the arm part 1500B can besimultaneously heated locally. However, in the case where a heatingsource to be used is a hot blast discharge nozzle, a laser light source,or a condensing light source of condensing light from a halogen lamp, itis necessary to perform local heating twice or prepare two heatingsources. Therefore, in order to prevent such a local heating processfrom being cumbersome or prevent heating facility from being enlarged,it is preferred that the tip end of the arm part 1500A and the tip endof the arm part 1500B be connected to each other.

FIG. 37 is an enlarged top view illustrating another example of themethod of manufacturing an antenna coil component according to the fifthembodiment, specifically, an enlarged top view illustrating an exampleof the structure in the vicinity of the mounting part after the fixingpart of the metal terminal is buried in the base. The exampleillustrated in FIG. 37 is the same as the example illustrated in FIG. 36except that the shape of the metal terminal 540H (540) to be disposed inthe opening part 532 is slightly different from the metal terminal 540Gillustrated in FIG. 36. In this case, the metal terminal 540Hillustrated in FIG. 37 has the same structure as that of the metalterminal 540G illustrated in FIG. 36 except that a coupling part 1416Fhaving a structure of connecting the tip end of the arm part 1500A andthe tip end of the arm part 1500B to each other is provided instead ofthe arm parts 1500A, 1500B. Note that, the coupling part 1416F has aU-shape brought down to the left side.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 37, the coupling part 1416F alsoserves as an arm part, and during the soldering step, any position ofthe coupling part 1416F can be heated locally. However, in the case ofheating the coupling part 1416F locally, it is particularly preferred tolocally heat the vicinity of the position (intermediate point) indicatedby an “X” mark in FIG. 37, that is the vicinity of a position at whichthe heat transfer distance to the mounting part 1410A is substantiallyequal to the heat transfer distance to the mounting part 1410B. In thecase of locally heat the vicinity of the intermediate point of thecoupling part 1416F, it becomes easier to heat the mounting parts 1410Aand 1410B equally. Thus, it also becomes easier to prevent thenon-uniformity of a soldered state between the mounting part 1410A sideand the mounting part 1410B side. Further, after the soldering step iscompleted, the coupling part 1416F serving as a bypass of an electricpath including the mounting part 1410A, the electronic component such asthe chip capacitor 550, and the mounting part 1410B is cut.

Note that, it is particularly preferred that the coupling part 1416Falso serving as an arm part be provided in a region other than a regionSP between the mounting parts 1410A and 1410B in a planar direction ofthe mounting parts 1410A, 1410B. This is because, in the case ofproviding the coupling part 1416F also serving as an arm part in theregion SP, there is a high possibility that the position at which thecoupling part 1416F is disposed and the position at which the electroniccomponent such as the chip capacitor 550 is disposed overlap each other.Further, in the case where the position at which the coupling part 1416Fis disposed and the position at which the electronic component such asthe chip capacitor 550 is disposed overlap each other, the electroniccomponent and the mounting parts 1410A, 1410B need to be soldered afterthe coupling part 1416F is removed by cutting after the local heating ofthe coupling part 1416F. In this case, the soldering step becomes verycomplicated and cumbersome.

FIG. 38 is an enlarged top view illustrating another example of themethod of manufacturing an antenna coil component according to the fifthembodiment, specifically, an enlarged top view illustrating an exampleof the structure in the vicinity of the mounting part after the fixingpart of the metal terminal is buried in the base. The exampleillustrated in FIG. 38 is the same as that illustrated in FIG. 37 exceptthat the structure of the metal terminal 540I (540) is slightlydifferent from the metal terminal 540H illustrated in FIG. 37. In thiscase, the metal terminal 540I illustrated in FIG. 38 has the samestructure as that of the metal terminal 540H illustrated in FIG. 37except that the coupling part 1416D is connected to an upper left sideof the mounting part 1410A, the winding connecting part 1412A isconnected to a lower left side of the mounting part 1410B, and acoupling part 1416G for connecting the mounting part 1410A and themounting part 1410B to each other is further provided on a left side ofthe mounting parts 1410A, 1410B. Note that, the coupling part 1416G hasa U-shape brought down to the right side. Further, two “X” marks in FIG.38 respectively indicate intermediate points of the coupling parts1416F, 1416G.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 38, anyone selected from the couplingparts 1416F and 1416G or both thereof can be used as arm parts. Further,the position of local heating in this case can be selected arbitrarily;however, it is preferred to select the vicinity of the intermediatepoint of the coupling part 1416F and/or the vicinity of the intermediatepoint of the coupling part 1416G in the same way as in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 37. In this case, compared to the exampleillustrated in FIG. 37, the mounting parts 1410A and 1410B can be heatedmore equally.

Note that, for the same reason as that for the coupling part 1416F, itis particularly preferred that the coupling part 1416G be also disposedin a region other than the region SP. Further, from the viewpoint ofheating the mounting parts 1410A and 1410B equally, it is preferred thatthe mounting parts 1416G and 1416F be disposed on one side and the otherside with respect to a center line L which is parallel to theY-direction and bisects the mounting parts 1410A and 1410B in theY-direction as illustrated in FIG. 38, and it is particularly preferredthat the mounting parts 1416G and 1416F be disposed at positions whichare substantially line-symmetric with respect to the center line L.Further, after the soldering step is completed, both the coupling parts1416G and 1416F are cut.

Note that, in the example illustrated in FIG. 37, a cutting mark causedby cutting the coupling part 1416F remains in the metal terminal 540H ofthe completed antenna coil component 510, and in the example illustratedin FIG. 38, cutting marks caused by cutting the coupling parts 1416F and1416G remain in the metal terminal 540I of the completed antenna coilcomponent 510.

What is claimed is:
 1. An antenna coil component, comprising at least: abobbin having a tubular shape and formed of an insulating material; awinding wound around an outer circumferential side of the bobbin; a baseprovided at least at one end side of the bobbin and formed of aninsulating material; and one or more metal terminals each havingconductivity and fixed to the base, wherein at least one metal terminalamong the one or more metal terminals comprises a mounting part having aplate shape on which an electric component is mounted; and an entireperiphery of an end of the mounting part is spaced from the base.
 2. Theantenna coil component according to claim 1, wherein the at least onemetal terminal among the one or more metal terminals further comprisesat least: a fixing part for fixing the at least one metal terminal tothe base; and a neck part for connecting the fixing part and themounting part to each other, the neck part having a length narrower thana length of the mounting part in a direction substantially orthogonal toa direction from the fixing part to the mounting part and substantiallyparallel to front and rear surfaces of the mounting part.
 3. An antennacoil component according to claim 1, wherein the mounting part has theelectronic component disposed thereon through intermediation of a solderconnecting part.
 4. An antenna coil component according to claim 1,wherein the electronic component comprises a chip capacitor.
 5. Anantenna coil component according to claim 2, wherein the at least onemetal terminal comprises two metal terminals each including at least thefixing part, the mounting part, and the neck part.
 6. An antenna coilcomponent according to claim 2, wherein the at least one metal terminalincluding at least the fixing part, the mounting part, and the neck partcomprises one mounting part and one neck part.
 7. An antenna coilcomponent according to claim 6, wherein the fixing part is buried in thebase.
 8. An antenna coil component according to claim 1, wherein: thebobbin and the base are formed integrally with each other; the base hasa ring shape forming a hollow part which passes through the base in adirection substantially orthogonal to an axial direction of the bobbin;and the at least one metal terminal including at least the fixing part,the mounting part, and the neck part is disposed so that the mountingpart and the neck part are positioned in the hollow part.
 9. An antennacoil component according to claim 1, wherein the insulating materialforming the bobbin and the insulating material forming the base compriseheat-labile resins.
 10. An antenna coil component according to claim 1,wherein the antenna coil component is used for an in-vehicle antennaunit.